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

Sungju’s mother is a loving figure who Sungju adores, especially in his early childhood. When the family lives in Pyongyang she holds a position as a teacher. Her anxiety as the family leaves Pyongyang is the first red flag for Sungju about their fall from grace. She also gives Sungju an important lesson about his father after Sungju witnesses the public executions in Gyeong-seong and realizes the reality of their new circumstances: that his father wouldn’t, under any circumstances, want his son to see him as a failure.

She disappears after telling Sungju she intends to visit his aunt in the nearby city of Nampo to collect food, but she never arrives in Nampo or returns to Gyeong-seong. Her disappearance devastates Sungju; he views it as further abandonment after his father’s disappearance. Sungju and his father still search for her for years afterwards, to no avail. Her presence in Sungju’s life looms large and haunts him throughout the book, particularly during his years as a kotjebi.

Sungju’s father was a high-ranking military leader in the North Korean government in Pyongyang, but after Kim Il-sung’s death, he is kicked out of military leadership following an undisclosed incident. As a child, Sungju looks up to his father as a role model, but this fall from grace serves as the impetus for Sungju and the family’s move to Gyeong-seong. Desperate to provide for his family during the famine sweeping the country, Sungju’s father travels to China to find goods to sell for one week, but he never returns.

There’s no word from Sungju’s father until a human smuggler comes to visit Sungju’s grandparents while he is staying with them. The smuggler says Sungju’s father has paid for Sungju to escape. When Sungju and his father are reunited in South Korea, the two men weep. Sungju says that, more than anything else, his father is ultimately the person he considers home.

A doctor in Pyongyang, Sungju’s grandfather was a kind presence in Sungju’s childhood, but they lost touch when Sungju’s family was kicked out of the city. His grandfather never gives up looking for them, and he eventually finds Sungju with his gang at the Gyeong-seong train station. He provides Sungju with a place to live and encourages him to leave North Korea when the opportunity presents itself.

Like his grandfather, Sungju’s grandmother was a compassionate presence in his childhood. When he lives with them later on in his adolescence, she feeds him and helps him resume his studies.

Young-bum is Sungju’s closest friend. They meet as schoolmates in Gyeong-seong not long after Sungju moves there, and Young-bum gives him guidance and advice as he adjusts to his new life. When Sungju’s parents disappear, Young-bum and his dying grandmother allow him to stay in their house. Young-bum teaches Sungju how to pickpocket and survive on the streets. He is a member of the “brotherhood” of kotjebi that Sungju leads. He is the “heart” of the group, often warm and caring despite terrible circumstances. Young-bum’s sudden and shocking death causes Sungju to spiral into a period of deep depression and grief.

Chulho is another friend Sungju meets after first moving to Gyeong-seong. Considerably tougher than Young-bum and Sungju, Chulho is completely disillusioned with Joseon and quicker to fight, argue, and steal as a means of survival. While he initially resents Sungju for having lived in Pyongyang, the two become close friends. Chulho struggles throughout the book, however, as evidenced by his abuse of alcohol and meth. But many of the moneymaking opportunities that the brotherhood finds in various cities—as pimps, guards, or other positions—come from deals that Chulho makes for them.

Min-gook is another Sungju’s peers from school in Gyeong-seong. He joins Sungju and the gang after Sungju sees him, Unsik, Sangchul, and Myeongchul performing on the streets.

Unsik is part of Min-gook’s original gang of performers in Gyeong-seong, and he joins up with Sungju and his brotherhood. When the group is imprisoned in the guhoso, Unsik is tortured by guards, which leads Sungju to come up with a plan to ingratiate themselves with the guards in an attempt to escape.

Myeongchul is one of the original members of the gang of performers in Gyeong-seong, notable for his impressive voice. The most idealistic of the brotherhood, he openly shares his daydreams with the other boys, even when they don’t want to hear it. He is severely wounded during a fight with another band of kotjebi and eventually dies. His death rattles the gang, especially Sungju, who realizes the stakes of their survival on the streets.

Like Myeongchul, Sangchul is a singer and performer from the original gang of performers in Gyeong-seong. He and Sungju share several short exchanges about the nature of God and hope during particularly low times.