| Book Review | A River in Darkness.
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"During the period of the Japanese Empire, thousands upon thousands of Koreans had been brought to Japan against their will to serve as slave laborers and, later, cannon fodder. Now, the government was afraid that these Koreans and their families, discriminated against and poverty-stricken in the postwar years, might become a source of social unrest. Sending them back to Korea was a solution to a problem. Nothing more." - Masaji Ishikawa.
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Some time last year, I managed to read a memoir about a woman's escape from North Korea (The Girl With Seven Names) and not only was I shocked but I was also appalled by how inhumanely the people were and are still being treated in that country. Now many months later, as I was reading A River in Darkness, I couldn't help but feel the same amount of helplessness and anger bubbling up within me. Although Ishikawa managed to escape, a part of him remained trapped in North Korea with his family. The irony of his escape was such that his freedom didn't mean much to him, knowing the fact that his family was starving to death. Ishikawa's story is filled with atrocities that happens to latch on to every person who once lived or still lives in NK.
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Ishikawa considers himself unfortunate for having a mixed heritage. With a Korean father and a Japanese mother, his life was nothing but a series of blows. While Ishikawa was growing up, the term 'repatriation' was thrown around frequently. His family was brought to Japan during the Second World War to help with labour activities. Although Ishikawa's father was from South Korea, he couldn't help but feel gravitating towards North Korea's offer of a 'Promised Land' to all the Koreans living in Japan. Ishikawa's childhood was not easy, what with an abusive father who frequently seeked pleasure in hitting his wife. Having nothing left in Japan, his father decides to move to North Korea, thus sealing the fate of his family.
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Upon his arrival, Ishikawa instantly notices something eerie about NK. The country looked poor, neglected and dirty. Soon he realises that all the abundance of food and employment that NK offered were nothing but false promises. As he grew up into his adult years, he was put to work in the lowest of jobs in spite of having a decent school record. Over the years, his bond with his father improves as the two of them struggle to take care of the family with the little money that they earn. Ishikawa's family felt their lives in Korea harder comparatively more than the others because of the freedom and commodities that they had access to back in Japan. Knowing what they left behind only broke their spirit more. Through all the hardships, he gets married twice and has a family of his own to look after. In the 90's, the country witnessed severe famine where rumours of cannibalism spread like wildfire. Having nothing to eat than weeds and acorns, he describes people as nothing but mere skeletons. It was then that he decided to escape the country with the promise of coming back for his family soon.
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Ishikawa's story is brutally honest, as he goes on to criticize the rule of Kim Il Sung and the hand of Japan in destroying the lives of lakhs of Koreans. This book kept me up many nights, feeling horrible for the fate of those who are still fenced behind that treacherous country. The ending, in particular broke my heart. As he narrates the struggles of living an expensive life in Japan post his escape, constantly worrying about his family back in Korea, one can't help but feel desolate. A River in Darkness is a depressing read but one that is important in educating people about how wrongly few countries treated/treats its people without an ounce of humanity. I highly recommend this not only for being a fascinating and gripping read but also for putting forth the murky truth of North Korea.
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Rating - 5/5.