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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/sep/13/i-was-in-a-north-korean-street-gang-now-i-study-at-warwick-any-questions
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| '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? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.04pm BST | |
| 13:04 | |
| Do North Koreans believe they live in a workers’ paradise? | |
| In North Korea, do most people hate the situation that they are kept in by the authorities, whilst keeping up a public face in order to avoid getting into trouble? Or are there significant numbers of regular people who genuinely believe that they are in a workers' paradise and being led by benevolent rulers? | |
| Most people hate the situation but they are told by the North Korean government that it has been created by the United States. People also live under the fear of the three generation of punishment policy: if you make a mistake against the government then you and your whole family will be sent to prison camp for lifetime on the charge of high treason. | |
| 1.03pm BST | |
| 13:03 | |
| How did you escape? | |
| How did you manage to escape ???! And how did you fund yourself ? Pls answer this !! | |
| When I was 12 my father left home to get food in China and then he managed to escape from China to South Korea. He resettled there and he sent a broker from South Korea to North Korea to bring me there. It cost him a lot of money. | |
| 1.01pm BST | |
| 13:01 | |
| Maeve Shearlaw | |
| Hi All, | |
| Just to let you know that Sungju is with us and we are ready to start. | |
| Please continue to leave your questions in the comments and he’ll answer as many as he can in the next hour. | |
| Let’s begin ... | |
| 12.29pm BST | 12.29pm BST |
| 12:29 | 12:29 |
| Maeve Shearlaw | 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: | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 | 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 |