Follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years, a chaotic period that saw the rise to power of Kim Jong Il and the devastation of a famine that killed one-fifth of the population, illustrating what it means to live under the most repressive totalitarian regime today.

Provides extensive regional coverage, practical travel tips, curated itineraries, and cultural insights, highlighting must-see sights like Gwangjang Market and Jeju Olle Trail alongside hidden gems, with maps, dining and lodging recommendations, and language support for independent travelers planning immersive adventures.

Twenty-six years ago, Shin Dong-hyuk was born inside Camp 14, one of five sprawling political prisons in the mountains of North Korea. This is the gripping, terrifying story of his escape from this no-exit prison-- to freedom in South Korea.

When the discovery of The Dungeon Master's Guide draws him into a colorful new world, ten-year-old Jun-su, with the help of an English-speaking teacher, deciphers the rules of this famous role-playing game, which sweeps him away from the harsh reality of a famine-stricken North Korea.

"A jaw-dropping glimpse of everyday life in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang: Zin-Mi is an adorable 8-year-old girl, who, as she prepares to join the pretigious Children's Union, participates in colorful, joyous patriotic school pageants, eats delicious evening meals at her family's well-appointed apartment, and is doted on by her attractive parents who work in model factories that regularly exceed their production targets. Sounds too good to...

"Jin and Suja meet and fall in love while studying at university in Pyongyang. She is a young journalist from a prominent family, while he is from a small village of little means. Outside the school, North Korea has fallen under great political upheaval, plunged into chaos and famine. When Jin returns home to find his family starving, their food rations all but gone, he makes a rash decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Meanwhile,...

"An incredible memoir of North Korea by a woman who defied the government to keep her family alive. Born in 1970s North Korea, Lucia Jang grew up in a typical household--her parents worked in the factories and the family scraped by on rationed rice and a small garden. Nightly, she bowed to her photo of Kim Il-Sung. But it was the beginning of a chaotic period with a decade-long famine resulting in more than a million deaths. In this harsh time, Jang...