The Girl with Seven Names: Chapter 33 Summary & Analysis

Over the next few months, there are several more news reports of North Koreans storming other countries’ embassies in China looking for asylum. Hyeonseo thought people only left North Korea because of hunger or curiosity, not for political reasons. She remembers all the things Uncle Jung-gil told her about North Korea and wonders if he was telling the truth. Then, Hyeonseo discovers the internet and finds out what the rest of the world is saying about North Korea and knows her uncle was telling the truth. Ok-hee suggests they go to South Korea together, and Hyeonseo begins to consider it. In China, she will always be a foreigner. At least she can feel like she belongs in South Korea.

Ok-hee has contact with other North Koreans, and she finds a broker, who, for $1,400, can provide them with the proper paperwork needed to get new IDs from the South Korean government. All they have to do is take the paperwork to the embassy, claim they lost their IDs, and get new South Korean IDs. Over the next few days, Hyeonseo gets ready to go to the embassy, but she is waylaid when a routine medical examination reveals that her blood sugar level is dangerously high. Hyeonseo is convinced she is dying, and she decides not to go to South Korea. She grows depressed and even suicidal. A month later, Hyeonseo has her sugar checked again, and it is normal. Apparently, the result of the previous test was due to lack of sleep and stress. Her depressions lingers for a few more days, until an event in Hyesan wakes her up.