In a joint memoir with sister Lisa, Laura Ling shares the never-before-told story of her months-long imprisonment in North Korea
By Elizabeth Eun
Illustration by Noah Dempewolf
From their initial capture in March 2009 to their dramatic flight to freedom, on a private plane, no less, in August, Laura Ling and Euna Lee have graced the pages of every news outlet possible, becoming household names in a matter of five months. But it’s Laura and her already famous sister, Lisa, who are back in the spotlight, with their new book, Somewhere Inside: One Sister’s Captivity in North Korea and the Other’s Fight to Bring Her Home.
The book is, as the title promises, told in two voices, complete with different fonts, but falls flat as it tells one story twice, not two sides of one story. Snippets of letters and phone calls between Laura and Lisa are published, often twice, once from Laura’s perspective and once in Lisa’s, provoking the thought that the double byline may have been unnecessary. Perhaps if the book were by Ling and Lee, instead of Ling and Ling, the story would have warranted the 300-plus pages and more sympathy, but Euna Lee has her own book coming out next month, titled The World Is Bigger Now: An American Journalist’s Release from Captivity in North Korea…A Remarkable Story of Faith, Family, and Forgiveness (Broadway Books).
To be fair, it’s clear from the get-go that the Lings’ book isn’t going to be strictly an account of Laura’s imprisonment in North Korea; it’s more about sisterhood and inner strength. Still, the book is overly saturated with childhood anecdotes and fond memories, which are indisputably there to give the book color and illustrate the sisters’ tight bond, but the details about Lisa’s prom night and Laura’s first date with her husband seem frivolous, and only end up detracting from what could have been a serious piece on North Korea.
When the book gets into Laura’s time in North Korea, she focuses on interactions with guards and interrogators. Overall, the guards surrounding Laura come off as human, albeit with stifled emotions and repressed speech, and so it’s hard to ever know if what we learn about the North is the truth, or just what the reclusive regime wants us to believe is the truth. Not to detract from Laura and Euna’s considerable ordeal, but it seems unlikely that “average” North Korean political prisoners were ever treated so kindly. Although Laura’s meals usually only consisted of vegetables, which her guards would repeatedly praise as being “organic,” they came regularly, and she was given a special meal on her wedding anniversary. In fact, even her guards seem to be fairly privileged, with one nicknamed “Paris”—as in the American heiress—for owning a cell phone and wearing bright outfits. Laura does describe enduring a painful endoscopic procedure for her ulcers with minimal anesthesia. But she notes that Paris reminds her how lucky she is: “‘Wow!’ she said. ‘You are being treated like the Dear Leader Kim Jong-il’s wife. No one I know would get such care!’”
But even though the anecdotes about her guards are mostly kind, they seem potentially dangerous, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of the North Korean government. It’s also hard to forgive such candidness, knowing that Laura and Euna’s documentary interviewees were reportedly persecuted, even though Laura explains that she and Euna destroyed their tapes and notebooks. Names are changed of course, but it simply doesn’t seem that difficult for the North Korean government to figure out who is who.
Toward the end of the memoir, Lisa’s passages begin to take priority and soon, the book is overwhelmed with political name-dropping. It doesn’t read as intentional, but it does get tired when Lisa gets into the details of all of the connections she used and the steps she took to get her sister back. Al Gore, Sen. John Kerry and Jimmy Carter are all eliminated as prospective “saviors,” until, finally, Bill Clinton enters the picture.
But then, how climactic could a book be when we all know how the story ends? The diplomatic nightmare was played out in the media for months, with the women who were intending to stay behind the story becoming the stars. Laura has also told People magazine that she regretted crossing into North Korea, but the book still ends up reading like a vindication of Laura’s catastrophic failure of a trip to North Korea. It doesn’t help when Laura writes, “I’d like to think that President Clinton’s visit paved the way for improved relationships between the United States and North Korea. Only time will tell.” The sisters end the book together, with a letter to the North Korean government that includes this statement: “We want you to know that though we have unique but independent perspectives on North Korea, neither of us ever had any malicious intentions when visiting your country. We just firmly believe in the fundamental right of people to be free.”
Related Articles
FOR ONLY $28!
Featured Event
One of the the biggest Asian cinema events to hit Southern California opens on May 10. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, features the latest works by established and emerging filmmakers, along with seminars, panel discussions and symposiums on topics relevant to Asian Pacific cinema.
Opening Night features “Shanghai Calling,” directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Korean American Daniel Henney, who plays a Chinese American expat lawyer navigating his way through the mean streets of Shanghai (the picture above also indicates he is a raisin smuggler). But does he take off his shirt? Go watch the movie to find out! read more
LINKS
Featuring Recent Posts Wordpress Widget development by YD
