63 pages • 2 hours read
Hyeonseo LeeThe Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Why was Lee better able to adapt to life outside North Korea than her mother and Min-ho?
What aspects of North Korean life are similar to your own society? What aspects differ? Do you feel your own freedoms or rights are restricted in ways similar to Lee’s in North Korea? Which rights, and how so?
Compare the treatment of Mexican and Central American asylum seekers by the United States to the treatment of North Korean refugees by China. In what ways do they differ and in what ways are they similar?
Compare the treatment of refugees by Germany to the treatment of North Korean refugees by China. In what ways do they differ and in what ways are they similar? Discuss how both countries’ policies have changed over time.
Compare and contrast the education Lee received in North Korea to the education you received. Are there any similarities? What are the major differences?
Lee explains that the North Korean regime maintains power by making every citizen complicit in their atrocities, blurring the distinction between oppressed and oppressor. Explain how the regime accomplishes this. Reference examples from the book. Can you provide examples of this tactic in other cultures?
What motivates Dick Stolp’s unconditional benevolence towards Lee and the North Koreans she was attempting to help? What enabled Dick to express this trait and prohibited the North Koreans and Chinese Lee encountered from acting similarly? What differentiates Kim’s aid to Lee from Dick’s?
Did Lee have more freedom in South Korea, China, or North Korea? Did Lee’s mother have more freedom in South Korea or North Korea? Why? Reference specific examples from the book.
Discuss the role of markets in North Korea. Contrast that to the role of markets in China. Contrast both to the role of markets in South Korea.
Why does South Korea view both North and South Koreans as Koreans? Why does South Korea grant all North Koreans who reach Seoul South Korean citizenship? Provide historical context. Given the state of both countries, do you think they will ever engage peacefully? What must happen to precipitate this?
