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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| 'I was in a North Korean street gang, now I study at Warwick' – any questions? | 'I was in a North Korean street gang, now I study at Warwick' – any questions? |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| 12.29pm BST | |
| 12:29 | |
| Maeve Shearlaw | |
| As we countdown to the Q&A (30 minutes to go) I wanted to share a review of Sungju’s memoir by young reader Patrick Sproull who said: | |
| Every Falling Star presents North Korea as a horrifying real-life dystopia. The book, the first of its kind aimed at young adults, is a first-person account of what it is like to be born and raised in a terrifying environment. | |
| Lee describes how he ate insects to survive, became a pickpocket and, in one of the book’s most heartbreaking scenes, was forced to bury some of his close friends. | |
| Every Falling Star is part memoir, part history lesson – a welcome approach as reliable information from the country is notoriously tricky to source. | |
| Young adult literature has repeatedly proved it can be as emotionally mature as adult fiction, a fact sometimes misjudged by new writers to the genre. Lee does not patronise or dilute any of the emotion in his account – several chapters are harrowing to read, and the book is better for it. | |
| Read the full verdict here | |
| 6.26pm BST | 6.26pm BST |
| 18:26 | 18:26 |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| Aged 12 years old Sungju Lee was left to fend for himself on the streets of Gyeong-seong in the north-east of North Korea. Just over 15 years later, he enrolled in a masters at the UK’s prestigious Warwick University. | Aged 12 years old Sungju Lee was left to fend for himself on the streets of Gyeong-seong in the north-east of North Korea. Just over 15 years later, he enrolled in a masters at the UK’s prestigious Warwick University. |
| The young defector escaped in 2002, starting a long journey which has seen him set up a charity to support North Korean refugees living in China and become an outspoken advocate for reform in the country he left behind. | The young defector escaped in 2002, starting a long journey which has seen him set up a charity to support North Korean refugees living in China and become an outspoken advocate for reform in the country he left behind. |
| Sungju has said that he would like to return home one day, but that it would require reunification with the South: one of the world’s longest running diplomatic standoffs. | Sungju has said that he would like to return home one day, but that it would require reunification with the South: one of the world’s longest running diplomatic standoffs. |
| But with a fifth nuclear test launched by the North heightening tensions on the peninsula once more, the possibility couldn’t seem further away. | But with a fifth nuclear test launched by the North heightening tensions on the peninsula once more, the possibility couldn’t seem further away. |
| As Sungju releases Every Falling Star, the first North Korean defector memoir aimed at young adults, he has agreed to join us live on Tuesday 13 September from 1-2pm GMT, to answer your questions about North Korea, his story, and what he believes in the best way to engage with the regime. | As Sungju releases Every Falling Star, the first North Korean defector memoir aimed at young adults, he has agreed to join us live on Tuesday 13 September from 1-2pm GMT, to answer your questions about North Korea, his story, and what he believes in the best way to engage with the regime. |
| Post your questions in the comments below and he will answer as many as he can in the hour. Alternatively you can email them to maeve.shearlaw@theguardian.com | Post your questions in the comments below and he will answer as many as he can in the hour. Alternatively you can email them to maeve.shearlaw@theguardian.com |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.07am BST | at 10.07am BST |