• Without You, There Is No Us

  • My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite
  • By: Suki Kim
  • Narrated by: Janet Song
  • Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (928 ratings)

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Without You, There Is No Us  By  cover art

Without You, There Is No Us

By: Suki Kim
Narrated by: Janet Song
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Editorial reviews

"A touching portrayal of the student experience in North Korea, which provides readers with a rare glimpse of life in this enigmatic country...Well-written and thoroughly captivating." ( Library Journal)

Publisher's summary

A haunting memoir of teaching English to the sons of North Korea's ruling class during the last six months of Kim Jong-il's reign

Every day, three times a day, the students march in two straight lines, singing praises to Kim Jong-il and North Korea: Without you, there is no motherland. Without you, there is no us. It is a chilling scene, but gradually Suki Kim, too, learns the tune and, without noticing, begins to hum it. It is 2011, and all universities in North Korea have been shut down for an entire year, the students sent to construction fields - except for the 270 students at the all-male Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), a walled compound where portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il look on impassively from the walls of every room, and where Suki has accepted a job teaching English. Over the next six months, she will eat three meals a day with her young charges and struggle to teach them to write, all under the watchful eye of the regime.

Life at PUST is lonely and claustrophobic, especially for Suki, whose letters are read by censors and who must hide her notes and photographs not only from her minders but from her colleagues - evangelical Christian missionaries who don't know or choose to ignore that Suki doesn't share their faith. As the weeks pass, she is mystified by how easily her students lie, unnerved by their obedience to the regime. At the same time, they offer Suki tantalizing glimpses of their private selves - their boyish enthusiasm, their eagerness to please, the flashes of curiosity that have not yet been extinguished. She in turn begins to hint at the existence of a world beyond their own - at such exotic activities as surfing the Internet or traveling freely and, more dangerously, at electoral democracy and other ideas forbidden in a country where defectors risk torture and execution. But when Kim Jong-il dies, and the boys she has come to love appear devastated, she wonders whether the gulf between her world and theirs can ever be bridged.

©2014 Suki Kim (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[An] extraordinary and troubling portrait of life under severe repression…[Kim's] account is both perplexing and deeply stirring." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A rare and nuanced look at North Korean culture, and an uncommon addition to the 'inspirational-teacher' genre." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about Without You, There Is No Us

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The King and I meets Mary Poppins

This is a nice memoir by an American journalist with South Korean parents who poses as a Cristian missionary affiliated English teacher for the sons of the North Korean elite both to tell their story to the world and to plant the tiniest seeds freedom within their minds. There is virtually no action, and very little unexpected, nevertheless I enjoyed the ideas and the message.

The aspect I found most interesting was the glimpse into the enigmatic ideas and desires of the North Korean young men; Passionate patriotism alongside unspoken envy of the west, bravado and shame, strength and weakness, intelligence and naiveté, pride and selflessness, bravery and fear, hate and love. The book itself is a study in conflicts being at once heavy and light, pessimistic and uplifting. I left feeling more connected to the North Korean people, and (slightly) more optimistic about the glacial progress of freedom in that country.

The narration is flawless, with tones of voice expressing the narrator’s inner state along with excellent characterizations, accents, and Korean language.

I think few will love this book, and I am unlikely to listen to it again, yet I am quite pleased I listened to it and think most sensitive readers will appreciate what is revealed.

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Unforgetable glimpses

Would you consider the audio edition of Without You, There Is No Us to be better than the print version?

Probably. I enjoyed Janet Song's performance in this book. I am not familiar with many of her performances, but as a biography she narrated it terrifically!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Without You, There Is No Us?

When Suki left the school to go back the the United States, the bittersweet non-farewell amongst the hope that her students would see her and her other teachers off.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both, in places. Since such a culture as North Korea involves duplicity on many levels, and Suki's position in particular adds another layer, it made me angry that one's life or livelihood or family is at stake for even one slip-up... It was difficult to read.

Any additional comments?

I read Barbara Demick's "Nothing to Envy" several years ago, and have been captivated by North Korea ever since. Both of these books capture different aspects of North Korean life, almost acting as continuations of each other. Both are worthwhile reads in their own right; Demick's journalistic eye and Kim's autobiography, before or after deaths of leaders, lives of peasants and schooling of the elite. You almost can't read one without the other, but they both stand on their own.

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A revealing look into North Korea

If you could sum up Without You, There Is No Us in three words, what would they be?

I heard about the author when she was interviewed on NPR. The book sounded interesting and the circumstances allowing Suki Kim's access to teach English in North Korea intrigued me. The book is a fascinating, sometimes heartwarming but mostly sad and shocking look into the isolated and bizarre place. I would highly recommend it.

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should be required reading!

What made the experience of listening to Without You, There Is No Us the most enjoyable?

This is not a story that you will "enjoy". Love doesn't conquer all, the good guys don't win, there is no happy ending. But it is something you will appreciate having read. North Korea is a force to be reckoned with, yet most of us know very little about the country or its people. This book gives us a tiny glimpse behind the curtain.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the author's tenacity, her willingness to put herself at risk to reach out to the people of North Korea and tell them that there is a lot more outside of their limited visibility, and to bring back to all of us a written description of what life in North Korea is like.

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Fascinating

The book started a little slow for me but before long I found myself pulled in. I can't imagine how frightening it would have been to teach in that school, especially knowing she would be writing about it. I'm very curious about what consequences there were for the school, teachers and students. Provides unique insight into a slice of North Korean life.

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North Korea meets Dead Poets Society

What true undercover journalistic endeavor! The closeness Suki felt was so heartfelt! The same for the students! The secrets kept by all were mind bending!

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not very interesting

This story would have been better as a magazine article. It is just not very interesting and there's not enough material here for a whole book. If you are really interested in North Korea this is probably worthwhile.

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A story of North Korea that should be told.

What made the experience of listening to Without You, There Is No Us the most enjoyable?

The storyline

What other book might you compare Without You, There Is No Us to and why?

I've always been interested in North Korea, but this book has increased my interest greatly.

Which character – as performed by Janet Song – was your favorite?

She does.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nothing wrong at all.

Any additional comments?

None

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Hateable Author

The author of this book, Suki Kim, is an over the top drama queen who is trying way too hard to write some meaningful novel by throwing in all sorts of uninteresting things that add nothing to the story and to me makes her quite hateable. She goes to help teach in North Korea at a school that is completely funded by Christians yet she lies about being religious, mocks the people she works with and has sounds like a hissy fit thrown by a 8 year old when old they're going to watch Chronicles of Narnia over Harry Potter. She talks endlessly about her "lover" and yet she writes about him like he has an IQ in the low single digits. It's times like this the author is at her worst - and keep in mind this is a 40+ year old woman we're talking about. I'm not a Christian but to hear her complain about being around Christians, knowing the fact that she lied to get to where she was and that her motive was to write this book and had nothing to do with what she claimed she was there to do - she just doesn't come off as a likeable person in the least, she comes off as dishonest, petty and obsessed with herself.

If you can get past that above and get past her over dramatic writing and breathless (at times, not all the time) writing then there is a very good and interesting story to be told here which is why I'll give it 4-stars, although barely 4-stars. The time travelling to North Korea, the time with her students, explaining the questions they ask, the things they tell her, the school grounds, etc - that stuff is really interesting, but she feels the need to break those interesting parts up with boring diatribes about how bad she has it, you know because visiting a place for a few months and knowing what is going to happen going in, and knowing you're going to leave, that's real real tough... ugh.

Anywho I've read just about everything about North Korea that audible has available and this is an interesting twist - which again is why I give it 4-stars. If this lady had just had a real author that could have kept her focused and provided more day to day detail to get this around 10-hours then you'd have one of the more interesting North Korea books out there. It's a shame that she thinks she's a great author - because she's not. She's not terrible, she's just not very good- maybe average at best.

The reader does a good job and I had no issues there. I feel bad for her that she had to read a lot of the self pity nonsense the author wrote, but she went right through it like she didn't mind, so I'll give 5 stars in that I want the reader to stand out above the 4-stars I gave the book.

Overall I do recommend this to people who want to hear a different angle on North Korea. It's not different in that it tells a happy or softer story, it's just different because of who the students are and who she is - it's interesting. So check it out, but just realize you're going to hear a lot of stuff you'd expect to find in the diary of a teenage girl - which is too bad.

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A Must Read

Where does Without You, There Is No Us rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is so educational about the life and culture of a group of "elite" young males in North Korea (DPRK) and their South Korean/American English teacher. Elite in North Korea is an oxymoron. I respect and value the mental and emotional struggles she experienced in always trying to be honest at all times with her students and her missionary coworkers who assumed she was Christian; description of their daily life - monotonous, and pervasive indoctrination and total distrust; and constantly having to be mentally careful of her words and actions. She so well explained the psyche of these students who since birth have been isolated from the rest of the world; indoctrinated to believe that North Korea is all powerful; and without "their dictator" who was all knowing and powerful that they would not be or survive. I had a read a couple of books about struggles of poor North Koreans and this book is important because it shows the reader why the next generation of influential male adults will act as they do.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author Suki Kim who risked returning to the country where her grandparents had fled to learn about life in DPRK today and tell this story in a book.

What does Janet Song bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I appreciate that both the author and narrator were women since this is a critical part of the memoirs.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There is so much not to be forgotten in this book, but I shall always remember that one student was not upset about being caught cheating at Trivia, but he "should have cheated better.

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