이 책은 북한에서 국군포로의 손녀로 태어난 장샤론씨의 이야기입니다. 장샤론씨는 1991년에 태어났지만, 그녀의 인생은 한국전쟁이 거의 끝나갈 무렵인 1953년에 이미 결정되어 있었습니다. 대한민국 군인이였던 그녀의 할아버지는 한국전쟁시 북한군에 붙잡혔습니다. 그는 투옥, 구타, 고문을 견뎌냈고, 석방된 후, 그는 아오지 탄광에서 일해야만 했습니다.

어머니도 어쩔 수 없이 탄광에서 일을 했는데, 그곳에서 같은 운명을 선고받은 사람을 만나 결혼을 했습니다. 이러한 성분 때문에 장샤론씨의 운명은 이미 정해져 있었습니다. 국군포로의 후손인 그녀는 북한에서 “자유의지”를 가질 수 없는 인생이였습니다. 이러한 그녀의 이야기를 생생하게 이 책에서 이야기하고 있습니다.

I was born in 1991, but the course of my life was determined in 1953, near the end of the Korean War. My grandfather, a South Korean soldier, was captured by North Korean forces. He endured imprisonment, beatings, and torture, and after his release, he was forced to labor in a coal mine.

Similarly, my mother was compelled to work in a coal mine, where she met and married a man whose family had also been sentenced to the same fate. As the child of two parents condemned to coal mining, my destiny was predetermined. After completing high school, I too was assigned by North Korean authorities to work in a coal mine.

Being a descendant of a South Korean POW, free will was impossible for me when I was growing up in North Korea.

[목 차]

Introduction 5

Acknowledgements 9

Prologue 13

Part 1.

My Childhood in Aoji, North Korea

1. Descendant of a South Korean Soldier 17

2. Children Who Ate Clay Crackers 19

3. Neighbors Who Steal from One Another 21

4. Child Peddler 23

5. Motherless Child 25

6. My Father's Transformation 29

7. My Aunt's Betrayal 31

8. My Mother Returned 33

9. Field Trip to Pyongyang 35

10. My Mother Leaves Again and Living with My Stepmother 39

11. Living in My Maternal Aunt's House 41

12. Surveillance and Punishment 43

Part 2.

People Who Live Behind Iron Bars

1. Graduating from High School in North Korea 49

2. Life in the Coal Mines 51

3. The Cost of Loyalty 55

4. The Man I Met in the Coal Mine 59

5. Life as a Maid in the Dolgeokdae 63

6. Moving in with the Man Who I Loved 65

7. Registering Our Marriage 67

8. The End to My Happiness 694

Part 3.

You Have to Leave a Wrong Path

Before You Can Find the Right Way

1. My Mother's Call 73

2. Parting from My Younger Brother 77

3. At a Temporary Shelter 79

4. Crossing the Tumen River 81

5. Meeting the Broker in China 83

6. At the Broker's House 85

7. Making Our Way to Thailand 89

8. Getting on the Plane to South Korea 93

Part 4.

Life Challenges, Which Still Continue

1. One Must Learn How to Live with Others 97

2. A Difficult River to Cross 101

3. To Canada 103

4. My First Day in Canada 105

5. New Challenges That I faced 109

6. The One Person Who Spoke My Language 111

7. From One to Another 113

8. People Who Are More Beautiful than Flowers 117

9. A New Challenge 121

Epilogue 125

About the Author and the translator 133