After a fairly happy childhood in North-Korea, Jihyun Park’s life came crashing down around her. First, part of her family was carried off by the famine; then her younger brother was shot and killed for attempting to flee to China. Jihyun herself was sold to a Chinese man. A child was born of that union. Betrayed by her own family and sent back to North Korea, she was detained for six months before escaping and being reunited with her son, Chul. Trekking across China and Mongolia, she manages to reach South Korea. She now lives in Manchester with her husband and children.

Two Korean Women is the story of a woman from North Korea as told by a woman from South Korea. The tale of the childhood, education, imprisonment and escape of the one (Jihyun) intertwines with the sense of guilt of the other (See-lynn).