My children have always been my reason for living. I'm no use to them if I'm dead.
-- Masaji Ishikawa (Prologue)

Importance: This quote shows that Ishikawa's devotion to his children and his family are at the core of his character. It is his need to care for them that keep him determined to stay alive. Though this quote appears in the prologue, it foreshadows the author's later suicide attempt and his ultimate decision not to take his own life for the sake of his children. In the prologue itself, this quote underscores Ishikawa's motivation for trying to escape North Korea: to help his family and save them from starvation.

You don’t choose to be born. You just are. And your birth is your destiny, some say. I say the hell with that.
-- Masaji Ishikawa (Chapter 1)

Importance: This quote includes the opening lines of the book and therefore highlights the importance of the theme of destiny in this...