Escape from Camp 14: Chapter 20 Summary & Analysis

For ten months, Shin lives on the ranch where the pig farmer left him. He works alongside two Chinese cowhands, neither of whom speak his language. Shin has no idea what to do next—Park had been in charge of planning the duo’s time in China. However, during his time on the ranch, Shin’s legs heal, he learns Chinese, and he grows healthier. He also begins listening to the radio, through which he learns stories about the food shortages in North Korea.

In North Korea, citizens are forbidden to listen to the radio. However, defectors smuggle radios from China into North Korea and sell them on the black market. Some defectors have since claimed that listening to the radio motivated them to leave North Korea in the first place. Shin loves listening to the radio because it feels good to hear Korean; however, because Shin has little to no experience with the world outside Camp 14, many radio broadcasts confuse him. He has nobody with whom to discuss the radio broadcasts, and as a result he becomes very lonely.

Toward the end of 2005, Shin decides to travel southwest, find some friendly Koreans, and get a stable job. He’s essentially given up ever moving to South Korea. He collects some money from the ranch manager—much less than he expected—along with a map. Traveling away from the ranch, Shin meets many other North Korean defectors, and Shin realizes that he’s not alone. Few people ask for his identification papers. He visits Korean churches and begs for work. Some pastors offer him money, but others tell him to go away.

Shin travels to Beijing, where he tries to find work in a restaurant, but doesn’t succeed. However, he never panics—after a lifetime of hunger and cruelty, Shin knows that he’d never come as close to starving as he has in Camp 14. In February, Shin arrives in Hangzhou, where he finally succeeds in getting a restaurant job. He works long hours and soon has enough money for a bus ticket to Shanghai.

In Shanghai, Shin resumes his search for restaurant work. At one restaurant, he happens to meet a journalist who works for a major South Korean media company. The journalist asks him if he wants to go to South Korea. He tells Shin to get into a cab with him, and the cab takes them to the South Korean embassy. At the embassy, however, Shin begins to feel afraid. He sees police officers everywhere, and doesn’t understand the concept of seeking asylum. Nevertheless, the journalist makes arrangements, and Shin continues to live in the consulate while he waits for his paperwork to be processed.

After living in the consulate for six months, Shin’s papers come through, and the journalist arranges for him to travel to Seoul. There, the South Korean National Intelligence Service interview him about his time in North Korea. (One intelligence worker, Sergeant Matthew E. McMahon, later remembered Shin seeming fragile and traumatized.) McMahon pens a report based on Shin’s descriptions of Camp 14, and he passes the report on to U.S. intelligence.