
If you haven’t yet read Monica Macias’s memoir yet, do give it a try. Having attended her book talk in Richmond library in January this year (marking the launch of the paperback edition) we snapped up a copy and simply devoured it – it’s such an interesting read.
Monica has been generous with her time in talking about her experiences. LKL lists three talks over the past three months; if you missed those, there’s one coming up in Brighton on 13 April, and then in May there are two further opportunities in the London area to catch her again: a Saturday afternoon in New Malden (4 May), where Jim Hoare – the UK’s first Chargé d’Affaires in Pyongyang – will also be a speaker, and there will also be some vegan bibimbap on offer; and a Thursday morning in Ealing quite near the North Korean embassy (9 May)
1. Saturday 13 Apr 2024, 15:00 – 16:00
Jubilee Library | Jubilee Street | Brighton BN1 1GE | [Map]
Free | Register via Eventbrite
Monica Macias in conversation with Carolynn Bain
Optimistic yet unflinching, Monica’s astonishing and unique story challenges us to see the world through different eyes. Monica Macias is the daughter of Francisco Macias, the first President of Equatorial Guinea. Through a strange twist of fate, she grew up in Pyongyang under the protection of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Since leaving North Korea, she has lived in several countries around the world and now resides in south London. Black Girl from Pyongyang is her first book to be published in English, and she will be the subject of a forthcoming documentary film.
2. Saturday 4 May 2024, 13:30 – 16:30
New Malden United Reformed Church | Malden Road | New Malden KT3 6DR | [Map]
£12 (inc bibimbap) | Register via Eventbrite
Join author Monica Macias and hear her extraordinary true story of a West African girl’s upbringing in North Korea under the guardianship of then-President Kim Il Sung. Optimistic yet unflinching, Monica’s astonishing and unique story challenges us to see the world through different eyes.
Come along to New Malden United Reformed Church on 4 May to hear from author Monica Macias and guest, Jim Hoare. Enjoy a complimentary meal with your ticket (vegan bibimbap). Our book talk is an opportunity to learn, discuss, and share a meal with a bestselling author.
Starting at 1:30pm, you can expect a warm welcome and wonderful hospitality throughout the afternoon.
- A copy of the book will be available for purchase at the event.
- Guest speaker Jim Hoare, British academic and historian specialising in Korean and Chinese studies, and a career diplomat in the British Foreign Office.
- Presented by EJ Han Karmy (MA, Korean Literature. SOAS). A retired translator, interpreter, TESOL and Korean language teacher who organises and runs group discussions on Korean Literature translated into English.
- Organised by Jimin Kim
- Sponsored by Mukbang Club
- Fundraising on behalf of New Malden Town Centre Partnership
3 Thursday 9 May 2024, 10:15 – 12:00
Ealing Green Church | Ealing Green | London W5 5QT | [Map]
£3 | No registration necessary, just turn up | details of the talk series here
Seeing the world through different eyes with Monica Macias, who has lived in several countries around the world and now resides in south London. She has written a memoir ‘Black Girl from Pyongyang’ which is a collection of stories from her life growing up in North Korea under the protection of the country’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung, as well as her journey to understanding her identity as a mixed-race woman who was raised in a country far from her native land of Equatorial Guinea.
Monica will share stories about her extraordinary upbringing in North Korea under the guardianship of President Kim Il Sung. In 1979, aged only seven, Monica Macias was sent from West Africa to the unfamiliar surroundings of North Korea by her father, the President of Equatorial Guinea, to be educated under the guardianship of his ally, Kim Il Sung. Within months, her father was 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. Reaching adulthood, she went in search of her roots. Spending time in Madrid, Malabo, New York, Seoul and finally London, at every step she had to reckon with others’ perceptions of her adoptive homeland. Optimistic yet unflinching, Monica’s astonishing and unique story challenges us to see the world through different eyes.