Jia: A Novel of North Korea
&mdash Reader's Guide&mdash

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Jia: A Novel of North Korea
by Hyejin Kim

Summary
The gentle daughter of a dancer who died giving birth to her and a father who was "disappeared" for owning foreign books, Jia grows up in the North Korea mountain gulag where her grandparents have been sent as punishment for their son's supposed treason. When her grandfather manages to smuggle her out of the gulag, Jia's journey takes her first to an orphanage in Pyongyang and then a dance school. As a young woman, she falls in love with a soldier and befriends neighbors, co-workers, and teachers, all struggling to survive the famine, the silent darkness, and the "capricious political winds" of modern North Korea. As life in the capital city worsens and her friends begin to disappear, Jia &mdash like thousand of her compatriots &mdash attempts to illegally cross the North Korean border into China.

Discussion Questions
1. Jia is a novel based on true events. How do you think this contributed to the way that Hyejin Kim wrote?

2. Do you relate to the main character? Why or why not? Were there situations that you would have reacted differently?

3. What does Hyejin Kim seem to be saying about tradition, family, and community in North Korea?

4. North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. What did you know about it before reading Jia? And after?

5. In the first chapter, "In My Secret Childhood," there was one rule &mdash Jia was never to ask about her father. How did this secrecy impact Jia and her family? What other unspoken rules were there?

6. When she got to Pyongyang, why were Jia's maternal grandparents reluctant to claim her? Why was it risky for Jia to talk to them?

7. What were the class differences used to separate citizens of North Korea? How did they affect Jia's relations with her maternal grandparents, her soldier boyfriend, and others?

8. Jia had many protectors over the course of her life &mdash Uncle Shin, Teacher Oh, Sangwon, and others. Why do you think that they helped her despite the great risk to themselves?

9. During their relationship, Seunggyu tells Jia "I know you have a good heart, but you should learn when to show it, and for whom." Does she follow his advice?

10. What does Gun's recruitment as a spy reveal about the status of human rights in North Korea?

11. What role does shame play in Jia's travels?

12. At the end of the book, Jia says "We were not just victims, but also survivors." Do you agree?

13. Did the book end as you expected? Why or why not?

About Hyejin Kim
As a child in South Korea, Hyejin Kim was taught to fear and revile North Korea. At fourteen, she learned that her father had been falsely imprisoned for five years as a North Korean sympathizer. She had good reasons for regarding North Korea as "both a constant threat and a beguiling Pandora's box" &mdash until a chance encounter on a bus in northeast China led to a friendship with "Jia," the inspiration for Hyejin Kim's affecting debut.

Kim has written for numerous publications, including Asia Times. She has a Ph.D. in global affairs from Rutgers University. In 2003, she received the Korean Novelist Association's award for Best Television Drama Scenario.

About Midnight Editions
The mission of Midnight Editions is to enlarge our understanding of human rights by publishing works from regions where repression and censorship are currently endangering creative expression. We publish and promote the work of journalists, creative writers, and photographers engaged in the complex art of reporting and documenting history.

Midnight Editions is an imprint of Cleis Press.

$14.95 Trade paper
240 pages
5 x 8
ISBN: 978-1-57344-275-6
Current Events / Human Rights