Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea

Losing Young-bum pains Sungju deeply, and he falls into a grief that manifests as rage and apathy. After living on the streets for three years now, and losing two members of his brotherhood, he laments their loss: “Our voice, Myeongchul, went first, followed by our heart, Young-bum” (251). Unable to face his grief for his friends and the family members he presumes dead, he starts smoking cigarettes, drinking sool, and abusing meth.

One morning Sungju hears the voice of Young-bum tell him to return to Gyeong-seong, and Sungju goes to see if Young-bum’s father has returned so he can tell him the impact his son had on Sungju’s own life.

But when Sungju and the brotherhood return, they find that Gyeong-seong has changed completely. The merchants and people they once knew are nowhere to be found and appear to have been replaced by strangers. None of their families have returned. They find work selling nightflowers and stealing from the market once more. Still lost in the haze of his grief, Sungju begins to forget his age and his real name, instead using his gang leader nickname Chang. But when Sungju threatens to fight his own brothers,