Shin Dong Hyuk had just turned 14 when he was forced to watch the executions of his mother and older brother for trying to escape from North Korea's "total control" prison camp No. 14, a Stalinist gulag for political prisoners. His mother was hanged; his brother was shot nine times.
At the time, Shin, who was born and raised in the camp, felt no pity for them. Total control meant the political prisoners were in until they died.
"They tried to escape. Naturally, death was the price they had to pay," said Shin, who had absorbed the inhuman logic of the camp.