Nothing to Envy : The real stories behind life in North korea

What is Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick about?

Nothing to Envy reveals the hidden reality of North Korean life through the voices of six defectors. Their stories uncover a world shaped by fear, loyalty, starvation, and hope — showing how ordinary people survive extraordinary oppression.

Discover our Review and Summary of Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

Korea was officially divided into two after the Korean War (1950 – ’53). While one progressed forward, advancing in technology to becoming more modern every year, the other stayed rooted in ancient ideas, lacking freedom and equality. This is the truth!

In this book, Barbara Demick interviews six defectors from North Korea, and they share their accounts of life and survival in the world’s most secretive country.

 In North Korea, poverty and illness have taken over the nation. Hospitals do not have any drugs or medicines. On the streets lie rows of children and adults, their bones protruding from their papery skin, begging for help that never comes.

Soon after North Korea was formed, it was plunged into the rule of Kim Jong Il (father of Kim Jong Un – the current ruler), and the country began to fall apart. With rising issues of malnutrition, starvation, low-paying jobs, and many more hardships, the interviewees’ opinions on the country shifts. From feeling lucky to be born there, to over 31,093 defectors registered with the Unification Ministry in South Korea.

Over 70% of defectors are women, due to economic pressures, experience in informal markets and more. One factor especially contributing is that women were expected to feed their children with as little resources they had, causing more likeliness to defect in order to feed their children properly.

From forbidden love and long strolls on the streets to learning to walk past a bloody child (a dead child covered in blood and abandoned) on the street without flinching, each of these six stories is unique in opinion yet similar in needs and hopes.

Is Nothing to Envy Worth Reading?

This book made me think about the sharp contrast between North Korea and the rest of the world. While many countries are tackling issues related to technology (like AI) and excessive luxuries such as abundant food leading to obesity -with obesity in America common in above 40% of adults and severe obesity in 7% of those – North Korea is still fighting a food and living crisis, with starvation at its peak .

It upsets me that it’s not as though North Korea doesn’t have money, it’s that its dictators choose to spend 26% of their GDP on the military, while most countries spend less than 2%. Knowing that the rulers live lavishly with abundant food and luxuries while their citizens starve and suffer is completely wrong.

Overall, this book is thought – provoking, and it really enlightened me on the country and its citizens. I learnt what life was like through the eyes of local people and how they were influenced by the regime. While reading, I quickly became quite sad, as it is a very sensitive topic, so you need to be emotionally resilient. Before reading this book, be aware that it contains some inappropriate language, so you may want your grown-up to supervise you while reading.

I rate this book a 5/5 and recommend it to everyone for awareness.

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