The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag (Korean: 수용소의 노래), by Kang Chol-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot, is an account of the imprisonment of Kang Chol-Hwan and his family in the Yodok concentration camp in North Korea.[1][2]
 | |
| Author | Kang Chol-hwan Pierre Rigoulot |
|---|---|
| Translator | Yair Reiner (English) Kang Chol-hwan (Korean) |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | The Perseus Press |
Publication date | 2000 (France) November 22, 2001 (United States) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 238 |
| ISBN | 1-903985-05-6 |
| OCLC | 59531886 |
It begins with an introduction by co-author Pierre Rigoulot describing Kang's new life in the Republic of Korea, then continues with a brief history of both North and South Korea since the Korean War in 1953. While incarcerated, Kang claims to have met Pak Seung-zin, a member of the North Korea national football team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He says that Pak and other players had been imprisoned after returning from the tour.[3] However, in the documentary film The Game of Their Lives, Pak and the other players were interviewed and they denied Kang's claim that they had been imprisoned.[4][5]
The most recent publication in 2005 includes an account of his meeting with former U.S. President George W. Bush.[6] According to Victor Cha, President Bush considered the book to be "one of the most important books he read during his presidency."[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG: Ten Years in a North Korean Gulag". Publishers Weekly. July 30, 2001. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ Tristan Abbey (December 10, 2005). "Aquariums of Pyongyang". The Stanford Review. Archived from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
- ^ "North Korean Soccer Unveiled". The New Republic. December 9, 2009.
- ^ MacLeod, Calum (November 12, 2001). "Korea boys of '66 are alive and kicking". The Independent.
- ^ Demick, Barbara (June 22, 2002). "1966 World Cup Upstarts Absent but Not Forgotten". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "President George W. Bush welcomes Chol-hwan Kang". Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. 2005-06-13. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
- ^ Cha, Victor D. (2013). The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. Internet Archive. New York: Ecco. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-06-199850-8.