The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

Mr. Ahn lives just across the river in Changbai, China with his wife and two children. Mr. Ahn and his neighbor, Mr. Chang, are Lee’s mother’s illicit trading partners. Mr. Ahn is the friendlier of the two, so Lee goes to his house. He’s surprised to see Lee at his door, but he gives her a tour of Changbai and agrees to escort her for the eight-hour journey to her uncle in Shenyang. They depart the next morning.

Initially, the differences between North Korea and China are subtle, “[b]ut after a few hours’ distance the villages were larger and looked more prosperous” (104). Even the service station along the highway is an experience for Lee, who reflects that:

In North Korea, there were only state-owned restaurants, which saw no reason or need to entice customers or make any effort to sell; and private, semi-legal ones operating furtively in markets or in people’s homes. But here the restaurants were advertising themselves brightly, inviting me to stop and look (104).

Shenyang is one of China’s largest cities, and the skyscrapers and lights are like nothing she has ever seen.

Lee’s Uncle Jung-gil, her father’s cousin, and