Nothing To Envy Summary

Nothing to Envy presents deep and thoughtful insights on the daily lives of people in North Korea. It is an informative book, providing the readers with moderate portions of history about Korea, as well as, connecting this historic information to the overall narrative of the book. It unveils the daily lives of the invisible population living in North Korea. Through reading this book, you will get a glimpse of what is it like to live under a totalitarian regime. It takes you in a journey to the minds, practices, and beliefs of the North Korean government towards its citizens. Over the course of fifteen years, the author Barbara Demick holds interviews with six North Koreans who experienced living in North Korea for a considerable part of their lives. They speak openly about their emotions towards what they faced socially and politically. In addition, the conversations include narratives of themselves and their loved ones. As soon as the six individuals start questioning their lives, they come to a conclusion that all they knew was a product of North Korean government propaganda.

The targeted audience for this book could be people who are interested in learning about North Korean society. It could be people who seek to read about North Korea’s relation to South Korea, China, and Japan, since the book mentions all of the countries listed in relation to North Korea. Moreover, the targeted audience could as well be people who are curious about the government policies and security tactics made by the North Korean government. Nothing to Envy argues that North Koreans have little to no control over their lives as they are censored, governed and ultimately owned by the North Korean