“I’m sorry, but you said North Korea is a paradise on earth, right?”

A young man, surnamed Oh, stood up and cut in as Shin Eun-mi spoke to an audience that had gathered to listen to her experiences while traveling North Korea.

“No, I have never said that it is a paradise on earth,” she replied. “Read my book at least once, please.”

The man tried to offer a rejoinder but was held back by the audience and event staff. Shin continued to discuss her dream of helping North Korean youths after her husband retires.

Shin, a U.S. citizen born