As the daughter of Francisco Macias, the first president of Equatorial Guinea following its independence from colonial Spanish rule, and as someone who grew up in North Korea, then proceeded to live in Madrid, New York, London and Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, this had the makings of a fantastic social and political tour-de-force. However, for the most part, her observations only ran skin deep and felt like incredibly biased and misplaced generalisations. This first visit to North Korea took place in 1977 when Monica, her older sister, Maribel, brother, Fran, and her parents were on a state visit. Francisco Macias was trying to strengthen the ties of his nation – newly independent from Spain – to the communist bloc. “I remember arriving at the airport,” says Monica, 51. “There was a crowd shouting and waving, a red carpet. It took my breath away. That is my first real memory.” In Beijing, singing karaoke with South Koreans, people she’d been taught to view as US puppets. Such meetings made her question the society in which she’d been raised.

I wanted desperately to blend in with my classmates, but their unspoken message seemed to be: ‘You are not Korean, you are not like us.'” Macias worked in a range of different jobs during her travels. She was a belly dancer in Spain, a hotel attendant in London, a jewellery designer in New York and a fashion designer in the posh Gangnam district of Seoul, where she lived for several years.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Monica Macias is the youngest child of Francisco Macías Nguema (Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong), known as Macías, the first president of Equatorial Guinea, who was deposed in 1979, and later executed by firing squad. (In this write-up, Macias will refer to Monica Macias, the author.) Monica Macias had been sent to be the ward, along with her siblings, of Francisco Macías’s friend, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. On her father’s death, her mother, who had accompanied them, returned to Equatorial Guinea. Monica and her siblings were then educated and raised in North Korea, leaving only after they had each completed university.

She has been very closely involved at the highest levels of two countries that are generally regarded, in the west, as being despotic. Her central thesis is that's it's important to understand every country's viewpoint from its own perspective. I am more than happy to accept that. I have no doubt that the west has done terrible things in the past; that may influence the way in which it reports on other countries; and it may cause the west to continue to behave in ways which are not always just or fair. However, despite Macias saying several times that she wanted to investigate and understand Equatorial Guinea and North Korea, she failed to make it clear that this is what she did. She mentions that some North Korean defectors in Seoul, South Korea, talk about returning. I have heard this. This is because they come to South Korea totally unequipped to deal with the high pressure, capitalist life there. Nevertheless, I'm not sure if this makes a compelling argument why North (a hereditary dictatorship) and South (a functioning democracy) should be regarded equally.Within just a matter of months, her father had been executed in a military coup; her mother became unreachable. Effectively orphaned, she and two siblings had to make their life in Pyongyang. At military boarding school, Monica learned to mix with older children, speak fluent Korean and handle weapons on training exercises. A cursory Google will tell you that Francisco Macias developed a cult of personality, a one party system and appointed himself President for life.

What’s wrong with you? You know you cannot speak to me like that. I am older than you! You should respect those older than you,’ she said. Macias’ experiences living in the two Koreas helped her develop an insider’s view of inter-Korea issues.

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Monica Macias, daughter of Equatorial Guinea's first president after independence from Spain who spent her life from age five to 18 in Pyongyang, North Korea, has certainly led a fascinating life and this made the book interesting to read. It is well written and very engaging. However, I also found it rather frustrating. I originally requested this book because I am fascinated by North Korea and thought that I would learn more this mysterious country.

In Spain, for the first time, she heard people badmouth her two father figures. She heard Macias described as “the dictator of dictators, a despicable human being”. “It was the most difficult thing to think my father was a killer. I never said my full name to people.” One man followed her on the street. He said he knew who she was and would kill her. This may sound harsh, but whenever she does try and expose her value system, her prose is reminiscent of an undergraduate-level politics essay. Grand statements that mean very little, waffly overarching generalisations, 'love don't hate'-style statements... such a missed opportunity, so many glaring omissions, and yet a lot of time is devoted to her time as a Leroy Merlin employee - only Spanish readers and/or anyone sufficiently acquainted with the Spanish home furniture market will realise how bonkers that sentence is. She received the media spotlight in 2013 when her memoir, I’m Monique from Pyongyang, was published in Korean. I feel that this book is a missed opportunity for the author to really give us an insight into both her childhood in North Korea and the real details of what happened in Equatorial New Guinea. However it was still worth a read but it could have been so much more.Do a lot of the defectors face discrimination in South Korea, I believe so yes. Must it be difficult to rebuild your life as an immigrant in the South? So hard I expect, especially when often times they have left their family behind and may never know what will happen to them but also economically, competitively etc. However considering the circumstances people have to flee in I would argue that they've left for good reasons. As for North Korea, Macias with her rose-tinted glasses neglects to mention that North Koreans can’t actually leave North Korea, so there’s that. 1/5 ⭐️