Crossing the Pa-Rak River

About the Book

This book is crowded with eerie scenes and bitter memories of sorrowful events. Through the personal experiences, the reader witnessed the crucial moments of the Cold War period. Particularly, the tragic division of the Korean peninsula brought about much subsequent miseries: Ideological strife between brother and brother. Countless separated families, Korean War, millions of killings, starvation, a mass evacuation, refugee life, ruins after war, student's revolution, military dictatorship, and emigration to the U.S. Also the readers witness man's endless wandering in order to search for a safe haven without possible escape, but to find nowhere.

About the Author

Born in 1943, in Anju-City, North Korea, Philip Kim escaped from the communist North Korea crossing the 38th Parallel to South Korea in 1948. He later graduated from a university in Seoul. Having immigrated to the United States in 1975, he is currently residing in Bethesda, Maryland. He is now retired and enjoys writing as well as painting.