The Aquariums of Pyongyang
2000 book by Kang Chol-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot
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The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag (Korean: 수용소의 노래), by Kang Chol-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot, is an account of the imprisonment of Kang Chol-Hwan and his family in the Yodok concentration camp in North Korea.[1][2]
| |
| Author | Kang Chol-hwan Pierre Rigoulot |
|---|---|
| Translator | Yair Reiner (English) Kang Chol-hwan (Korean) |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | The Perseus Press |
Publication date | 2000 (France) November 22, 2001 (United States) |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 238 |
| ISBN | 1-903985-05-6 |
| OCLC | 59531886 |
It begins with an introduction by co-author Pierre Rigoulot describing Kang's new life in the Republic of Korea, then continues with a brief history of both North and South Korea since the Korean War in 1953. While incarcerated, Kang claims to have met Pak Seung-zin, a member of the North Korea national football team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He says that Pak and other players had been imprisoned after returning from the tour.[3] However, in the documentary film The Game of Their Lives, Pak and the other players were interviewed and they denied Kang's claim that they had been imprisoned.[4][5]
The most recent publication in 2005 includes an account of his meeting with former U.S. President George W. Bush.[6] According to Victor Cha, President Bush considered the book to be "one of the most important books he read during his presidency".[7]