The Hard Road Out: One Woman's Escape from North Korea

Jihyun Park is a rare survivor of North Korea who escaped famine and dictatorship twice. By the age of 29, she had witnessed a lifetime of suffering, including family members dying of starvation and her brother being beaten nearly to death by soldiers. She was forced to abandon her father on his deathbed and was sold to a farmer in China before being denounced and forcibly returned to North Korea. Six months later, guards abandoned her, injured, outside a prison camp. She recovered and returned to China to seek her son, now six, before attempting to navigate the Gobi Desert and into Mongolia. Her extraordinary story reveals a Korea far removed from the talk of nuclear weapons and economic sanctions and offers a stark lesson in determination and the importance of asylum.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

A gripping, suspenseful, and cathartic memoir that tells a story of pain and perseverance and makes the moral case for asylum. David Lammy MP

North Korea is an open-air prison from which there is no escape. Only a handful of men and women have succeeded.

Jihyun Park is one of these rare survivors. Twice she left the land of the "socialist miracle" to flee famine and dictatorship. By the age of 29, she had already witnessed a lifetime of suffering. Family members had died of starvation; her brother was beaten nearly to death by soldiers. Even smiling and laughing was discouraged.

The first time she ran, she was forced to abandon her father on his deathbed – crossing the border under a hail of bullets. In China, she was sold to a farmer, with whom she had a son, before being denounced and forcibly returned to North Korea. Six months later, guards abandoned her, injured, outside a prison camp. She recovered and returned to China to seek her son, now six, before attempting to navigate the long, hard road through the Gobi Desert and into Mongolia.

Clear-eyed and resolute, Jihyun's extraordinary story reveals a Korea far removed from the talk of nuclear weapons and economic sanctions. She remains sanguine despite the hardship. Recalling life's tiny pleasures, even at her darkest moments, she manages to instill her tale with incredible grace and humanity. Beautifully written with South Korean compatriot Seh-lynn Chai, this compelling book offers a stark lesson in determination, and ultimately in the importance of asylum.

Weight: 156g
Dimension: 128 x 197 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780008541446