謝辭

當然，如果沒有申東赫的勇氣、智慧和耐心，本書不可能寫成。有兩年時間，他花時間並忍受痛苦訴說他的故事，道出一切可怕的細節。

我也想要感謝麗莎．珂拉克夏，她是美國北韓人權委員會的委員，也是最先和我談到申東赫的人。《經濟學人》的記者肯尼思．庫克爾告訴我，必須有人將申東赫的故事寫成一本英文書，他也針對如何寫這本書提供了建設性的建議。

由於我不會說韓文，所以我必須倚賴翻譯。我要感謝首爾的史蒂拉．金和珍妮佛．趙、徐尹仲和布萊恩．李與東京的山本亞希子協助我寫報導，以及支援。南加州的大衛．金是出色的翻譯員，也是我和申東赫的朋友，他針對本書提出許多建議。

在托蘭斯，自由北韓的哈娜．宋和安迪．金幫助我了解申東赫如何適應美國生活。哈娜．宋也為我和申東赫處理後勤工作。西雅圖的哈琳．李也幫了我的忙。在俄亥俄州的哥倫布，羅威爾和琳達．戴伊為我提供觀點和建議，他們幫助過申東赫，而他把他們視為父母。

我要感謝華盛頓彼得森國際經濟研究院的副院長馬可士．諾蘭，他引導我去了解北韓的內幕。花許多時間為我提供專業見解，他和史蒂芬．哈克德合作進行的北韓研究，是我主要的資訊來源。此外，吳孔丹幫助我了解從申東赫以及其他北韓人得到的資訊，她是維琴尼亞州亞曆山卓的美國國防分析研究院的研究員，她和北韓丈夫所寫的書，也為我提供極為寶貴的幫助。在首爾的國民大學從事北韓研究的教授安德烈．蘭科夫，總是樂意和我分享他的見解。

兩位孜孜不倦的部落客，為我提供有關北韓經濟、領導人、軍事和政治的最新資訊和分析。他們分別是「一個自由韓國」的約書亞．史丹頓，以及「北韓經濟觀察」的寇蒂斯．梅爾文。此外，芭芭拉．德米克的好書《我們最幸福：北韓人民的真實生活》，是我了解北韓人民想法的主要來源。

我特別感謝首爾的「北韓人權資料庫中心」，這個機構出版了申東赫的韓文回憶錄，並且大方鼓勵他和我合作。此外，韓國律師學會出版的《二〇〇八年北韓人權白皮書》，也是寶貴的資訊來源。

《隱藏的古拉格：揭露北韓的監獄勞改營》的作者大衛．霍克和我分享他的專長和研究，他也是讓外人注意北韓勞改營的存在和運作的最重要人士。我也感謝蘇珊娜．肯爾特，她在世界各地帶領北韓人權運動。在西雅圖，阿爾卡斯（微軟Bing地圖架構長）提出敘述方面的精明見解，而山姆（《噴氣式時代》作者）則為我提供報導上的建議。

我的經紀人拉菲爾以出色的專長讓這本書得以問世，《華盛頓郵報》的編輯差遣我到亞洲，建議我深入探索北韓內幕。當我猶豫不決，他們給我鼓勵。也對我提出嚴格要求，並大力支持。總裁唐納德先生也非常關注北韓的情況，當我寫出有關北韓的有趣報導，他總是對我多加鼓勵。

最後，我要感謝我的妻子潔西卡，撰寫本書時，她扮演了一個重要的角色。除了閱讀和校訂這本書，她也讓我相信，說出申東赫的故事，是我所能做的一件最有意義的事。我的孩子露西安達和安諾針對申東赫的生命故事提出許多好問題。他們無法理解北韓的暴行，但是他們認為，申東赫是一個了不起的人物。我也有同感。

SHIN DONG-HYUK moved in 2009 from South Korea to Southern California, where he worked with Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a human rights group. He later lived in Seattle, where this photo was taken in 2011.

KIM JONG EUN, leader of North Korea, is Shin’s age. The little-known third and youngest son of Kim Jong Il first appeared before the world’s press in 2010. After his father’s death a year later, North Korean state media hailed him as “another leader sent from heaven.”

KYODO VIA AP IMAGES

After seventeen years in power, KIM JONG IL died of a heart attack in 2011. The Dear Leader, who inherited his dictatorship from his father, suffered a stroke in 2008. He then began grooming his son Kim Jong Eun to take control.

KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY/KOREA NEWS SERVICE VIA AP IMAGES

KIM IL SUNG was North Korea’s founding dictator and remains its Eternal President, despite his death in 1994. In this undated official photograph, he gives his famous “on the spot” guidance in the Grand People’s Study House, the country’s central library.

This hagiographic depiction of KIM JONG IL is one of countless paintings, photographs, and statues of the “Dear Leader” that are prominently displayed—and carefully maintained—across North Korea.

The cult of personality surrounding the Kim family began with the Great Leader, KIM IL SUNG, who was depicted in government propaganda as a loving father to his people. Although his leadership was brutal, his death in 1994 was deeply mourned.

The teachers at Shin’s school in Camp 14 were uniformed guards who always carried pistols. Shin saw one of them beat a six-year-old classmate to death with a chalkboard pointer.

Children in the camps scavenged constantly for food, eating rats, insects, and undigested kernels of corn they found in cow dung.

Shin watched as his mother was hanged and his brother shot for planning to escape.

After the discovery of his mother and brother’s escape plan, Shin was held for seven months in a secret underground prison inside Camp 14. He was thirteen years old.

In the underground prison, guards tortured Shin over a coal fire, seeking to find out his role in the planned escape of his mother and brother.

As punishment for dropping a sewing machine while working at a garment factory in the camp, guards used a knife to cut off Shin’s right middle finger at the first knuckle.

SHIN returns often to South Korea, where he tries to raise awareness about the North’s labor camps. In this 2009 photo, Shin walks in front of a temple in central Seoul.

The author conducted interviews with Shin in South Korea, Southern California, and Seattle, Washington. In this 2009 photo, SHIN and HARDEN stand in front of a Louis Vuitton shop in Seoul.

In Torrance, California, SHIN shared a residence with interns working at LiNK, the human rights group. He liked the semichaotic camaraderie of group houses, where up to sixteen young people lived and ate together.

LOWELL AND LINDA DYE of Columbus, Ohio, paid for Shin’s move from South Korea to California after reading a Washington Post story about his life. Shin calls them “Dad and Mom.” This 2009 photo was taken in New York City at a human rights event.

SHIN’S adjustment to life outside Camp 14 has been halting. “I am evolving from being an animal,” he says. “But it is going very, very slowly. Sometimes I try to cry and laugh like other people, just to see if it feels like anything.” This 2008 photo was taken in Seoul.