The Girl with Seven Names. Hyeonseo Lee
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William Collins
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London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2015
This William Collins paperback edition published 2016
Copyright © Hyeonseo Lee 2015
Hyeonseo Lee asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Maps by John Gilkes
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Source ISBN: 9780007554850
Ebook Edition © July 2015 ISBN: 9780007554867
Version: 2020-02-26
‘Stirring and brave … true, committed, unvarnished and honest. Lee has made her own life the keyhole to the present, inside and outside of North Korea’ Scotsman
‘Remarkable bravery fluently recounted’ Kirkus
‘Hyeonseo Lee brought the human consequences of global inaction on North Korea to the world’s doorstep … Against all odds she escaped, survived, and had the courage to speak out’
Samantha Power, US representative to the United Nations
‘I have spoken with countless numbers of defectors over the years. When I first met Hyeonseo Lee, the unflinching manner in which she told her story, although full of sadness and hurt, was inspirational. That is the story now written in this book … Every time she navigated treacherous terrain and overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles, she had to change her name to protect her new identity. She became the Girl with Seven Names … But one thing that she held on to was her humanity, ever stronger as she continuously sublimated her hardships into hope’
Jang Jin-sung, founder of New Focus International and author of Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee – A Look Inside North Korea
‘This is a powerful story of an escapee from North Korea. In the hallowed meeting rooms of the United Nations in New York, ambassadors from North Korea recently sought to shout down stories like this. But these voices will not be silenced. Eventually freedom will be restored. History will vindicate Hyeonseo Lee and those like her for the risks they ran so that their bodies and their minds could be free. And so that we could know the truth’
The Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Abuses in North Korea, 2013–14
CONTENTS
Part One: The Greatest Nation on Earth
1. A train through the mountains
2. The city at the edge of the world
14. ‘The great heart has stopped beating’
16. ‘By the time you read this, the five of us will no longer exist in this world’