Bookverdict.com

Memoirs by North Korean defectors have proliferated, but Ishikawa's, originally published in 2000, might be the first available in English translation by a Japanese-born escapee. The Japanese best seller I Was Kim Jong Il's Cook by pseudonymous Kenji Fujimoto could be the only other North Korean/Japanese memoir, although Fujimoto's luxurious existence bears no resemblance to Ishikawa's inhumane ordeal. "You don't choose to be born. You just are," Ishikawa opens the f...Log In or Sign Up to Read More