Kang Chol-Hwan's account of life inside the utter hell (no words I know of can accurately describe it) that is current-day, Stalinist North Korea, is riveting, honest (even critical of himself at times), and a monumental work that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. (A sincere note of appreciation is also owed to Yair Reiner, the French co-author, and author of the 800-page, "Black Book of Communism").

Chol-Hwan's descriptions of the world inside Kim Il-Sung's (and now, Kim Jong-Il's) gulags are nearly identical to Solzhenitsyn's tales of Stalin's (Il-Sung's appointer) gulags and Viktor Frankl's account of Hitler's concentration camps. Purely evil, totally psychotic and insane, and the most devastating indictment of the post-modern worldview's denial of Man's utter depravity. As Chol-Hwan concludes, even about himself and fellow inmates (much less, Il-Sung and his lackeys), "I once believed that man was different from other animals [morally-speaking], but Yodok showed me that reality does not support this opinion." Very honest, yet very true, Mr. Chol-Hwan.

Reading this book, it is impossible to ignore the indictment it makes of the Communist supporters that are still extremely numerous in the West (and around the world). Chol-Hwan, in simply telling his story (offering minimal political observations), shows how thoroughly bogus this crowd is. He mentions the Cuban expatriates (the people despised and mocked by the Western Left) who send aid to those left behind, equating them with the North Korean escapees who do the same. He mocks the thought that Kim Jong-Il (whom Jimmy Carter has called "vigorous, intelligent, (and) surprisingly well-informed") and Kim Il-Sung (upon whose death Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton publicly offered their condolences to the Korean leaders) are anything less than evil personified. Even Chol-Hwan's escape from North Korea, several years after having been released from the Yodok gulag, is initiated by his impending re-arrest for having been caught celebrating the death of Nicolai Ceaucescu (whom Jimmy Carter praised and said "shared the same goals" as his). Mr. Chol-Hwan describes the illegally accessed radio broadcasts he heard in North Korea, produced by the South Korean Christians (or, "those evil capitalists" as Jimmy's followers often put it) as "sweet as honey to us." Chol-Hwan tells of his astonishment (after 25 years of N. Korean indoctrination) at the warm, loving, reception he receives from citizens in South Korea... excepting only the left-leaning press and many South Korean university students (sigh...). The press at one of his first press conferences in South Korea is so skeptical (Communism bad? No...) of his and his fellow escapee's stories that he finally takes the microphone (as his friend begins to cry under the fire of their cynical questions) and says, "If you don't want to believe us, go to the North!" Later at his South Korean university, surrounded by the same evil cynicism (from people who have "lived their whole lives swaddled in perfect comfort" (atta boy, Kang!)), Chol-Hwan tells these leftists to "Go to the North and you'll stop trying to excuse all Kim Il-Sung's failures. Go find out for yourselves." (Trust me, Kang, some of us have tried this suggestion with them before... they'll never listen. Theirs is a hatred and evil rarely matched in the democratic West.) These examples from Chol-Hwan's story (and others) go on and on and on...

"Aquariums in Pyongyang" is a monumental work from an amazing human being that was delivered from a man-made Hell on Earth. I owe him a profound respect and admiration for his courage in speaking out against the horror and evil that is Communism and its apologists.

"The Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Kang Chol-Hwan is a great book even if you have no specific interest in Korea. The book's universal appeal is its story of a person who survives a disastrous early life to escape by guile and fortitude to a better world he wasn't even sure existed.

Kang also provides a rare view inside the most secretive society of the contemporary era. He reveals a North Korea [DPRK] that is more accurately described as a criminal conspiracy rather than the most pure communist state in history. Communism serves as more a pseudo-religious enabling device for Kim Il-Song, his successor Kim Jong-Il, and their henchmen in this hyper-fascist state. To this end, communism worked better than the old style Hitler/Mussolini fascism if you were at the top. For the masses either system was a catastrophe. Kang provides vast evidence of this. Kang is also proof positive that the people of the North are not purely the brainwashed victims of communism that the rest of us have been led to believe.

The DPRK will go down in history as serving no useful purpose other than as a warning of the depths of depravity people are capable of, [while most of the world looks the other way].

Other reviewers note similarities to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago" [a.k.a. the literary tombstone of the USSR] and I agree. I add, and recommend, "MiG Pilot" by John Barron & "Anthem" by Ayn Rand as related books. "MiG Pilot" tells the true story of another disenchanted communist, Viktor Belenko. "Anthem" is more a nightmare version of a pure-communist future society. The struggles and ultimate personal victories portrayed in "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" and "MiG Pilot" may prevent the rest of us from living in the world of "Anthem".

I'm surprised to read some of these critiques and find that individuals feel the need to discount this book for literary shortcomings and typos. The story itself is a strong one and I was more than willing to forgive this man for misspelling "kidnapings" in exchange for his horrific tale of the years lost in a North Korean concentration camp. It amazes me that some disregard these pages as "really nothing new" -- a very inhumane response to a very vivid and compelling account of abominable human rights injustices. This isn't fiction here; this REALLY happened and deserves the understanding that this man is sharing HIS story and not trying to write the next "War and Peace."

Kang Chol-Hwan has shared his amazing journey from one world to another. In order to share the reality of life under a loathsome, hateful regime that does nothing but systematically starve and kill its people, he risks the well-being of himself and loved ones. I read his story and was deeply moved. Being half a world away, it's difficult to fathom that such horrid injustices occur in our modern society.

I am a Korean-American and live a much more sheltered and protected life than many on this earth. I am deeply appreciative to my parent's for coming to the U.S. in order to give their children a better life. They were only children during the Korean War and had their fair share of hunger and hardships. They walked the long, death-ridden highway with the masses towards hopefully a better life in the South. They were among the fortunate. Many saw their families torn apart and kidnapped back to the North.

Reunification is inevitable. This seems to be the sentiments of many. It's only a matter of time before the North just can't hang on any longer without the help of its affluent sister in the south.

A great many thank you's to Mr. Kang for sharing his life.