Discovering Joy Continues

It’s been nearly four years since Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea was first published, and I continue to be amazed by the opportunities this one, simple book has opened. From dining with senators and their wives in the Senate Building in Washington D.C. to standing at the UN Headquarters in New York City and advocating for exemptions for humanitarian workers in the DPRK, I would have never imagined the doors that this book has opened. You might call them divine appointments. All I did was simply write down insights from my heart.

Photograph taken following Lunch with Senators in the Senate Building

But since its first publication in October 2018, the most life-giving opportunities have been the personal ones. They have been the times I was able to share with readers in book clubs, present in-person on our humanitarian work in the DPRK, or through the written words I discovered in a 5-star book review.

Truth be told, it would have been much easier for me to not write the book. Personal experiences inside North Korea can be controversial. Instead of focusing on a political or a militaristic view of North Korea, I highlighted the humanity of North Koreans. They are, after all, people just like you and me. I wanted to bring balance to mainstream media and the perspective on North Korea by digging deeper into who they are as a people, their culture, and the joy I personally discovered while getting to know them.

Eventually this led to contributing to the new documentary titled INSIGHT: Into North Koreans. Like my book, this documentary steers away from the political narrative on North Korea and focuses instead on North Korean’s humanity and person-to-person interactions between foreigners and North Koreans.

Documentary INSIGHT: Into North Koreans

Recently, I was contacted by a sixth-grade student from Crescent Elementary School in Anaheim, California. By the recommendation of her teacher, she was encouraged to read my book and has consequently published a book review on Medium.com. Here is what she wrote:

“Discovering Joy, Ten Years in North Korea, is an autobiography by Joy Yoon. The book takes place when the author and her family lived in Pyongyang, North Korea. Over the passage of ten years, Joy Yoon helps the citizens of North Korea as a medical aid worker and learns how they live their lives. She discovers joy in supporting the people and from finding out how she has changed in the years living in North Korea. Joy Yoon uncovers her true self by creating deeper relationships with North Korean people, learning to trust them, and caring for the disabled.

I highly recommend this book because readers can learn how people live their lives in North Korea compared to other parts of the world. They can also read about the process of discovering oneself. Overall, the book was extremely inspirational, and I am motivated to courageously volunteer as Joy Yoon did.”

This young lady is now not only inspired to volunteer in meaningful ways, but she is also an aspiring author herself. Along with several other Southern Californian kids, she has published short stories in the book, Stories from Us.

In this divisive world where criticism and misunderstandings can harm and sting, this young student gave me one of the greatest encouragements. She gave me hope that one day the next generation will carry on the good work that we began, and that they may inspire even more significant change and progress.

If we all viewed North Korea like this young woman, perhaps it would not be so hard to embrace those different from ourselves, even if that person was a North Korean. With the complication and distortion of our modern world, indeed sometimes what we really need is a fresh perspective from our youth.