Barbara Demick Noth Ing To Envy Analysis

Barbara Demick interviewed defectors from Chongjin, North Korea in her book “Noth ing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.” She wanted to get an idea of what real life is like in North Korea. She chose an array of defectors from different factions. She told their stories in a novel format instead of having to read their individual interviews. She chose six main people and really dug into their every day life, their thoughts and feelings on what was going on around them. I think she chose a really good variety of people to come up with a complete view, but considering they were all defectors it would cast North Korea in a horrible light. She was not able to get into North Korea to speak to those who chose to stay.
My favorite defector is …show more content…
He spent most of his life in an orphanage, getting fed and sheltered. He grew close with the other orphans and they created their own family. Unfortunately, when the famine and the economic downturn struck North Korea the orphanage was shut down pushing Kim-Hyuk and the other orphans out on the street. They stole whatever food they could in order to survive. Kim-Hyuk defected to China and then he proceeded to South Korea. Kim-Hyuk 's story shows what the lowest class had to endure to survive. They had it worse than all the other classes, and had to do illegal things just to …show more content…
I was tied up in Mi-Ran and Jun-Sang’s love story and very upset when they got separated just to find each other again after Mi-Ran was married. What rang out to me the most was just how un-attracted they were to each other when they were free. It really showed that due to circumstance, they felt love because they finally found someone they could confide in. It was dangerous, frowned upon and exciting. But when they were free and roles were reversed, neither one seemed to know what they saw in each other. That just shows how stressful and sad the situation was in North Korea that it made them latch on to one another. I feel she picked a good mix of defectors to interview. She touched on each class, High, Middle and low. She found orphans with no family who had nothing to lose or nothing to leave behind when they defected. People who left loved ones behind, kids, family, parents. She found people where were wealthy, and those who were poor. She found people who left with some family members and some who left on their own. She chose people who supported the government, hated it, wasn’t sure about t and even some who still supported the government. This was a really good mixture of people to get as good an idea of the life in North Korea as possible. However, she was unable to get into North Korea to speak to those that are still there by choice, those being forced to stay, and those prisoned. I think a fuller picture could have been