My grandfather told me that love burns brighter than any star. – Sungju Lee
Before reading Sungju Lee’s Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea, I didn’t know much about North Korea, much less what it is like to grow up in a country that Lee describes as “a true-to-life dystopian nation.” Lee’s story begins with his father teaching him war tactics at age six, lessons that will later save his life as he and his friends run from the police.
As a child young Sungju dreams of becoming an army general. His life in the capital city, Pyongyang, is one of relative luxury, with a nice apartment, a good education, and after-school tae kwon do lessons. He is taught to idolize his country’s leader, Kim Il-sung, and to fear South Korea and the United States.