Nothing to Envy

by

Barbara Demick

Mi-hee Character Analysis

Mi-hee is Mi-ran’s oldest sister, a talented singer who nonetheless struggled to use her talents due to their family’s beulsun, or tainted blood. Mi-hee was already married with children when Mi-ran, Sok-ju, So-hee, and their mother defected in 1998; she did not travel with them, and she was later imprisoned in a labor camp as retribution for their crimes. As of the time of Nothing to Envy’s publication in 2009, Mi-hee and her sister Mi-sook were presumed dead.
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Mi-hee Character Timeline in Nothing to Envy

The timeline below shows where the character Mi-hee appears in Nothing to Envy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Propaganda, Misinformation, Deception, and Control Theme Icon
Surveillance, Trust, and Relationships Theme Icon
As Mi-ran watched her sister Mi-hee face rejection after rejection from specialized high schools, Mi-ran began to worry about her own... (full context)
Chapter 20
Propaganda, Misinformation, Deception, and Control Theme Icon
Isolationism and Self-Reliance Theme Icon
Surveillance, Trust, and Relationships Theme Icon
Scarcity, Starvation, and Desperation Theme Icon
Escape, Trauma, and Survivor’s Guilt Theme Icon
...concrete. She learned that six months after she and her family defected, her older sisters Mi-hee and Mi-sook were taken away to labor camps in the middle of the night. Though... (full context)