The Accusation

With rights sold in fifteen territories and already a publishing phenomenon in France and South Korea, The Accusation is a deeply moving and eye-opening piece of fiction that exposes the truth of the North Korean regime. Set during the period of Kim Jong-Il's leadership, the seven stories that make up The Accusation throw light on different aspects of life in North Korea, and as a whole form a vivid and frightening portrait of what it means to live in this most bizarre and horrifying of dictatorships.

One story, "The Magic Elm", tells the tale of a war hero and former ardent communist who plants an elm tree in his back garden to commemorate one of his brothers-in-arms. A family friend who works at a nearby factory must decide whether he will intercede on this man's behalf when the tree is to be cut down to make way for a new power line and the war hero is prepared to defend it with his life. In another story, "The Town of Specters", a Pyongyang mother's young son misbehaves during a party rally, crying out when he sees a portrait of Karl Marx, whom he thinks is a monster of Korean myth known as the Eobi. A consequent visit from a party official throws the family into great peril. Other stories deal with a mother's attempts to feed her husband during the worst years of a famine and a woman in a perilous situation who meets the Dear Leader himself. As a whole, The Accusation is a powerful portrait of what it means to live in a completely closed-off society, and a heartbreaking yet hopeful portrayal of the humanity that persists even in such dire circumstances.

"Bandi", which means "firefly" in Korean, is a pseudonym for a writer who is still living in his homeland of North Korea, and who wrote these stories in secret. The Accusation is his only published book to date.