Joint RAK-DAK reception with Kang Chol-hwan, October 9

Here is the official announcement:

The Korean chapters of Republicans Abroad and Democrats Abroad proudly sponsor a non-partisan reception and presentation with Kang Chol-hwan former North Korean political prisoner and author of The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag.

The reception will take place at Seoul Club on Sunday, October 9. Doors will open for the reception at 6:00 PM and the presentation will begin at 7:00 PM. Admission is 36,000 won.  Food will be served.

“President George W. Bush does not recommend books lightly. Which is why The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag made headlines recently when President Bush not only praised the book, but also held a private, 40-minute meeting with the author, Kang Chol-hwan.” – National Review Book Service

"The Aquariums of Pyongyang is one of the most terrifying memoirs I have ever read. As the first such account to emerge from North Korea, it is destined to become a classic." -- Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking

Kang is the first survivor of a North Korean concentration camp to escape the "hermit kingdom" and tell his story to the world.  In his book, Kang revealed the human suffering in his camp, with its forced labor, frequent public executions and near-starvation rations that Kang supplemented with rats and bugs. He eventually escaped to South Korea via China to give testimony to the hardships and atrocities that constitute the lives of up to two hundred thousand people said to be still detained in the gulags today. Part horror story, part historical document, part memoir, part political tract, and this story of one young man's personal suffering finally gives eyewitness proof to a neglected and ongoing chapter of modern history.

If interested in attending or if you have any questions, please contact Andy Jackson.