Black Girl From Pyongyang
The extraordinary true story of a West African girl’s upbringing in North Korea under the protection of President Kim Il Sung
by Monica Macias
Pub Date 02 Mar 2023 | Archive Date 02 Mar 2023
Duckworth Books
Biographies & Memoirs | Multicultural Interest | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of Black Girl from Pyongyang through Duckworth Books and Netgalley:
In 1979 when she was only seven Monica Macias was transplanted from West Africa to the unfamiliar surroundings of North Korea. She was sent by her father Francisco, the first president of post-Independence Equatorial Guinea, to be educated under the guardianship of his ally, Kim Il Sung.
Within just a matter of months, her father had been executed in a military coup; her mother became unreachable. Effectively orphaned, she and two siblings had to make their life in Pyongyang. At military boarding school, Monica learned to mix with older children, speak fluent Korean and handle weapons on training exercises.
After completing University, she went in search of her roots, passing through Beijing, Seoul, Madrid, Guinea, New York and finally London – forced at every step to reckon with damning perceptions of her adoptive homeland. Optimistic yet unflinching, Monica’s astonishing and unique story challenges us to see the world through different eyes.
I give Black Girl from Pyongyang five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
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