The water was as cold as ice. The current was stronger than Yeong-dae had expected, making it hard to move forward. The further he moved toward the middle of the river, the deeper the water got. The river kept pushing him downstream. Yeong-dae put all of his strength into swimming ahead. Suddenly, a light began to shine. Yeong-dae stopped where he was and ducked his head underwater. If he made a sound or the flashlight beam found him, everything was over. He couldn’t let himself die, not like this!
- Kim Young-il, president of PSCORE
People for Successful Corean Reunification
Across the TUMEN A North Korean Kkotjebi Boy’s Quest
Moon Young-sook Moon Young-sook was born in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, in 1953. Her literary career took off when she won the 2nd Blue Literature Prize in 2004 and the 6th Literature Neighborhood Prize for Children’s Literature in 2005. In 2012, she received a creative grant from the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. Moon’s main reason for writing stories is to teach young people about parts of Korean history that Koreans must never forget. Some of her best-
Moon Young-sook
“I actually lived in North Korea, and yet the author seems to understand North Korean society even better than I do! I was completely absorbed in the story. It read less like fiction and more like an account of my childhood and my escape from North Korea. As of 2013, about 25,000 North Korean defectors have made their way to South Korea. I felt like each of their heartbreaking stories went into the writing of this book.”
Across the TUMEN
YEONG-DAE IS a young boy who has to beg on the streetS as a kkotjebi just to survive. He crosses the Tumen River to find his sister, his only surviving family member.
known works are the young adult historical novels The Kareiski’s Endless Wandering and The Children of Henequen. She has also written a number of children’s novels, including Picture in the Tomb, The Dark Sea, Hagi: Lady of the Court, The Coat of Many Colors, The Old Man Who Became a Little Child, and The Bread of Kaesong.
www.seoulselection.com
A Novel by
Moon Young-sook