Book Review of The Other Side Of Tomorrow By Tina Cho

 Book Review of The Other Side Of Tomorrow By Tina Cho

The Other Side of Tomorrow is a story of two children in North Korea under the generalissimo regime of Kim Jong-Un. Their stories run parallel as they face hardships in North Korea but they meet while they have the common goal of escaping the country through China, Laos then Thailand from where they can take refuge and immigrate to other countries. But, the journey is a perilous one. The smallest of mistakes and getting captured can make their situation worse than it already was. Yunho resides with his grandmother in North Korea while Myunghee lives with her Great Aunt. Yunho wants to leave the country and waits keenly for his mom who already crossed the border to call him to join her while Myunghee just wants more freedom than what the regime will give her. With the only aspiration of living their cruel country with hopes of a better life. Myunghee annd Yunho unite to escape North Korea.

My Opinion

This book was extremely touching. It showed the hardships that the North Koreans faced. It was a graphic novel and I noticed something. The colours went from dull to lush and bright as they travelled from North Korea and China to Thailand.The book reflected the struggles in such a way that the message was conveyed, the story was interesting and people were gripped to the book throughout.Around the world, people like you and me live a comfortable life.The fact that you are reading this shows your life is normal with gadgets, freedom and lots of social connections but the people of North Korea struggle to get their daily food. Those with houses are punished if they don't have a picture of their generalissimos who they should consider "gods". But these people have certain escape routes. One is 38 Parallel. This is the most dangerous escape route between North and South Korea through a forest filled with land mines and if you are seen you are shot on sight. The other escape route is the one taken in this book. After crossing the Yalu river which has a small width from North Korea, you reach China then go through Laos and finally reach Thailand where refuge is given to you until you are accepted by another country typically South Korea.South Koreans give North Koreans immediate citizenship the moment the land in South Korea. But the journey is risky as the Chinese and The people of Laos deport refugees who have escaped back to North Korea.Many people have tried escaping via sea but that is extremely dangerous. In recent days, when North Koreans are recruited by Russians for the war some take refuge in Ukraine and are then deported to South Korea. Life in North Korea is harsh but for those who escape they are the luckiest of all. Under the tyranny of Generalissimo Kim Jong-Un, North Koreans are deprived of their rights. They barely have any exposure to the outside world and most of them don't even know gadgets and social media exist. Their lives must not be compromised due to one man's fear of losing power. They shouldn't be oppressed for one man's consolidation of power. They must rise against dictatorship. The world must fight back against these preposterous ideas of holding power. They need a spark to fight back and this spark should come from within and the world must support for them to have a better future.