Światu nie mamy czego zazdrościć. Zwyczajne losy mieszkańców Korei Północnej - Barbara Demick

Imagine a nightmare straight out of Orwell's 1984 brought to life. Imagine living in a country where radios receive only one state-owned station. Imagine a gray world into which only red propaganda slogans bring color. Imagine having to hang a portrait of a leader on your room wall and bowing to him on all holidays. Imagine a place where sex is used only to beget more citizens, and where the security services, like Orwellian Thought Police, keep a close watch on your face during rallies to make sure that not only your words, but also your thoughts are sincere. This place really exists - it's called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The regime that has ruled North Korea since 1945 is arguably the most totalitarian system in the modern world. Barbara Demick's award-winning book provides a glimpse into a reality that most of us have no idea about. The book covers the chaotic time after Kim Ir Sen's death, when his son Kim Jong Il came to power, and the country was hit by a famine that killed a fifth of the population and saw a sharp increase in the number of illegal refugees from the communist paradise.

Through the fate of several refugees, the author describes the drama of thousands of North Koreans - hunger, repression, growing fear. Those who managed to get out tell of the hardships of escape, the inner journey to freedom, marked by a struggle with guilt, separation from their families and the inability to adapt to life in the new world. One of those valuable reads that change our perception of reality.
Joanna Hosaniak, international campaign director of Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights

This is a book that demonstrates the author's extensive knowledge of North Korea, while remaining entirely focused on the human dimension of the story.
The New York Times

Book in Polish language version.

Technical data
Author: Barbara Demick
Binding: softbound
Year of publication: 2023
Number of pages: 368
Format: 133 x 215 mm
Publisher: Czarne