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  • The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story

  • By: Hyeonseo Lee, David John
  • Narrated by: Josie Dunn
  • Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (471 ratings)

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The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story

By: Hyeonseo Lee, David John
Narrated by: Josie Dunn
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Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.

©2015 Hyeonseo Lee (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
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Critic reviews

"The most riveting TED talk ever." (Oprah)
"This is a powerful story of an escapee from North Korea. In the hallowed meeting rooms of the United Nations in New York, ambassadors from North Korea recently sought to shout down stories like this. But these voices will not be silenced. Eventually freedom will be restored. History will vindicate Hyeonseo Lee and those like her for the risks they ran so that their bodies and their minds could be free. And so that we could know the truth." (Michael Kirby, chair of the UN commission on human rights abuses in North Korea)

"When I first met Hyeonseo Lee, the unflinching manner in which she told her story was inspirational. She experienced hunger, coldness, fear, terror, threats and pursuit. All this she had to endure, simply for being a North Korean refugee. But the one thing that she held on to was her humanity, ever stronger as she continuously sublimated her hardships into hope. This is a sad and beautiful story of a girl who could not even keep her name, yet overcome all with the identity of what it is to be human." (Jang Jin-sung, author of Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee - A Look Inside North Korea)

What listeners say about The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story

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  • Overall
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fascinating

fascinating book about a world and story unknown to most of us. was a lack of emotional expression in the narrators voice but I persevered anyway

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Incredible story

This is the quickest I have gotten through an Audiobook! Hyeonseo’s story is an amazing insight into life in N Korea. I’ve been interested in the country for a long time and this story really opened my eyes to the realities of life there, it gave life and voice to North Korean people. I found Hyeonseo’s story to be inspirational, you become truly invested in her life, her families lives, and their stories. I would recommend to anyone

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Great Listen

what a story and what an incredible young woman Hyeonseo Lee is. Highly recommend this book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping

What a harrowing, yet fascinating story. It is a must-read if you're interested in the subject of North Korea.

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I enjoyed it

Not as tough a story as some but still impressive and brave, a good read

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Incredible and inspiring

I think these are the sorts of books that should be taught in schools. Incredible bravery and courage. Truly inspiring

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Incredibly lucky girl with seven names

I have recently wondered what all those who defected from North Korea had to go through and this is a brilliant journal of one such story. I actually believe the author and defector was incredibly lucky and also didn't suffer as many others, whom she also mentions in the book, who were poorer did. Her life of almost 18 years in North Korea didn't seem so terrible at all, she first left out of sheer curiosity and rebellion and then naively went through life as she did. of course she went through her fair share of trouble but fortune was and hopefully still is on her side. Hopefully soon, as she says, there is a united Korea and this is just a distant memory and hopefully her family is safe.
I enjoyed the reader too, she performed well.

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Fascinating insight.

Loved this book. Such a brave journey and gives great insight into life in North and South Korea.

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What a life!

Would you listen to The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story again? Why?

I would listen again, if I had time to re-listen, as this was a complicated story and a second hearing might bring out things I'd missed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

She of the seven names! She is the pivotal, first-person character.

Which character – as performed by Josie Dunn – was your favourite?

Hyeonseo. The accent sounded very genuine.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It has good-byes that you hope never to experience. Life in North Korea seems shocking to a Westerner.

Any additional comments?

This book was recommended to me and not the kind of book I usually choose. I was glad to have listened to it as it is a true story and an eye-opener into the way of life in North Korea.

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Absolutely fascinating book/audiobook

I've often wondered what it must be like for the people of North Korea, after seeing coverage on TV of mass performances, marches, hysteria and weeping - alongside stories of what seemed to be a complete and utter lack of human rights for anyone other than those at the very top. I have to admit that I also wondered whether North Koreans' apparent love for their Leader was genuine (and if so why) - or if they were simply too afraid to show their real feelings. Hyeonseo Lee's book answered all those questions, and many more that hadn't even occurred to me before. I just couldn't stop listening, and was alternately amazed, shocked, uplifted, fascinated, horrified and full of awe throughout her story - which documents her childhood in North Korea, her pretty much accidental defection to China, and her incredible struggle to survive thereafter. It's an incredible story of oppression, fight for survival, widespread corruption and bribery, occasional kindness of strangers, and long struggle to help her mother and brother escape from North Korea too. Hyeonseo Lee is one courageous, tenacious and intelligent lady, and I am full of admiration for her and her story - beautifully narrated by Josie Dunn. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone!

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