Every book is an autobiography: Krys Lee

BENGALURU: It wasn’t a book she meant to write but

Krys Lee

’s work with

North Korean refugees

led her to write her second book, ‘

How I Became a North Korean

’. “I didn’t intend to write the book but as I mingled with and became an activist, learning about the lives and fears of north Korean refugees, the story appeared,” Lee told Trisha Das, author of Ms Draupadi Kuru on a session of the evolution of stories at the third edition of the

Times Litfest

, presented by ACT Fibernet in Bengaluru on Saturday. “You do have to look for stories but they’re always there,” she said.

Her new book, released last year, depicts three North Koreans, attempting to flee to South Korea. Lee recalled how North Koreans would often come up to her with their diaries of stories, forcing her to write about them.

“What I really wanted to get across with this book was that everyone’s stories are important. I wrote this book because this was where the pain was. Every book is an autobiography. It’s about the writer’s curiosity and context,” said Lee.


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