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Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite
The Unification Symphony by Philip Rhyu is a remarkable story about the stranglehold the Kim dynasty has had on North Korea since the division of the country in the 1950s. We meet Jung Ho and his wife Young Ae, both of whom are young musical artists hoping to escape the communist regime in North Korea. Instead, they are captured and made near-slaves to the North Korean communists by being given the dubious titles of the People's Composer and the People's Singer. At the onset of the Korean War, the couple is captured and then made the ward of a soon-to-be powerful military man by the name of Kang. Although Kang protects the couple and allows them to live a life more privileged than that of most of the millions of poverty-stricken North Koreans, it comes at a cost. Jung Ho and Young Ae must perform original compositions which are filled with propaganda intent on forcing all North Koreans to conform to the control and belief of the two Kim rulers, a father Kim II Sung and his son Kim Jong II.
Under the leadership of the Kims, North Korea becomes isolated from the rest of the world and the two musicians become the puppets of the government while they long for freedom in South Korea. When Young Ae is poisoned, Jung Ho becomes desperate until he meets another musician, a violinist named Soon Yi. As conditions worsen, Jung Ho is commissioned to write a symphony of liberation. He gradually begins to revolt against his own captivity. He writes a Unification Symphony which he entrusts to his two children.
This is a powerful book which should open the eyes of readers who truly want a broad understanding of the cost of dictatorship and deprivation for an entire nation. There is a great deal of courage in the book which will keep readers involved to the very end.
