The first of its kind, this book provides a rare and unique inside look into the hidden world of ordinary North Koreans. Mike Kim, who worked with refugees on the Chinese border for four years, recounts their experiences of enduring famine, sex-trafficking, and torture, as well as the inspirational stories of those who overcame tremendous adversity to escape the repressive regime of their homeland and make new lives.

In ESCAPING NORTH KOREA, One of the few Americans granted entry into the secretive “Hermit Kingdom,” Kim came to know the isolated country and its people intimately. His North Korean friends entrusted their secrets to him as they revealed the government’s brainwashing tactics and confessed their true thoughts about the repressive regime that so rigidly controls their lives. Civilians and soldiers alike spoke of what North Koreans think of Americans and war with America. Children remembered the suffering they endured through the famine. Women and girls recalled their horrific sex-trafficking experiences. Former political prisoners shared their memories of beatings, torture, and executions in the gulags.

With the permission of these courageous individuals, Kim now shares their stories and recounts his dramatic experiences leading North Koreans to asylum through the 6,000-mile modern-day underground railway through Asia. His unflinching narrative exposes the truth about North Korea, stripping away the last veils that still shroud this brutal dictatorship.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mike Kim is the founder of Crossing Borders, an NGO providing aid to North Koreans. On New Year's Day 2003, he gave up his financial planning business in Chicago, Illinois and left for China on a one-way ticket carrying little more than two duffle bags. While living near the North Korean border, he operated undercover as a student of North Korean taekwondo, training under North Korean masters from Pyongyang—eventually receiving a second-degree blackbelt. During his time in China, he learned of the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans fleeing to China through a 6,000-mile modern-day underground railroad in search of food and freedom. Kim recently received his MBA from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and now travels and speaks widely to raise awareness of their plight.

“The power of ‘Escaping North Korea’ stems from the stories Mr. Kim tells. During his four years in China, he met hundreds of escapees from the North. He reconstructs their tales -- of the privations of daily existence in North Korea, of life on the lam in China -- in heartbreaking detail… There are many heroes in Mr. Kim's book, not least the author himself.” —The Wall Street Journal

“His intrepid effort to help four North Korean teenagers avoid arrest and repatriation on the journey from northern China to the British consulate in Shanghai is riveting, as is his insider knowledge of the perilous route refugees navigate across the borders of China, Laos and Thailand.” —Publishers Weekly

“This is an inspiring yet tragic study of the brave few in North Korea who have chosen to vote with their feet to leave the earth’s most repressive regime. An important and accessible piece of work, it should be read by generalists and specialists alike.” —Victor Cha, Georgetown University

"It is impossible to read the remarkable stories of personal suffering, endurance, and courage in these pages without believing that more can and must be done to help the North Korean people. It is not bad strategy or poor diplomatic practice to place human rights at the top of our agenda with Pyongyang and to challenge the rest of the international community to do the same." —Michael J. Green, former special assistant to the president for national security affairs and senior director for Asian affairs, National Security Council

"Mike's dramatic U-turn from a successful career in financial planning to answer a higher call to the spartan and hazardous vocation of protecting North Korean refugees in China is nothing short of exceptional." —Tim Peters, Helping Hands Korea