Ahn Kim, Esther. If I Perish. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1977.
A young Christian woman in a Korea governed by Japanese imperialists who have recently begun a program of mandatory Shinto shrine worship with the penalty of imprisonment, torture, and likely death for those who disobey–no, I didn’t find myself in a situation like hers at all. But, or maybe for that very reason, the testimony of Esther Ahn Kim (Kor. 안이숙, or Ahn Ei-Sook) towed me along for several hours.
Notwithstanding some rather large emotive and logical gaps* probably owing to subpar translation from the original Korean–if you’re able, read it in Korean!**–Ahn’s simply written testimony is an easy and worthy read in the opinion of this BookWom. It doesn’t feature scene after scene of excruciating torture or a fantastical writing style; it was the vignettes of quotidian Korean life and the drudgery of a jail cell, which make up a large part of the book, that touched me most deeply.
Two of my take-aways from the book:
1) I was impressed and rebuked by Ahn’s constant references to Scripture throughout her story. When everything is taken away, you still have the Word of God that has been stored in your mind.
2) It’s amazing what prayer will do. God can move mountains, jailers, apples (see cover…and inside the book!)…
Lastly, I’ve often wished that there was an East Asian version of the Great Controversy: you know, how we can interpret Korean or Chinese history from a Biblical, spiritual perspective. This book helped me to understand a bit better the Japanese occupation of Korea in light of its impact on Christianity in the country.
And if you’re still not convinced that you should read the book, maybe the fact that Ahn almost single-handedly changed the attitude of Japanese officials towards Christians in an entire country (Korea) pique your interest?
ML
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*For example, particularly in the early parts of the book, there aren’t clear explanations for some of the decisions and comments that Ahn makes.
**The Korean version is titled “죽으면 죽으리라.”
my parents knew immediately just at the mention of the name of this person. They have read it already. I’m looking forward to reading this book. I’ll try to get it in Korean. Thanks for the review!
Unni, you should tell me how the Korean version is! There were a couple times when I was thinking that the wording would make perfect sense in Korean but sounds a little loopy in English.