Review: The Other Side of Tomorrow

The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho (illustrated by Deb JJ Lee; published by Harper Alley in 2024)

I wanted to read this graphic novel because I’m a fan of Deb JJ Lee’s artwork (I read In Limbo shortly after it came out), and I was intrigued by the premise of Tina Cho’s story: a harrowing journey of children escaping North Korea.

The story follows two children, Yunho and Myunghee.

Desperate to give her son a chance at a better life where he can eat real food (instead of boiled mouse soup when they’re lucky), Yunho’s mother leaves him behind to live with his grandmother and slips across the river that separates North Korea and China. Yunho works as a metal collector, earning a pittance for hitting scrap metal quotas until one day, he receives word that his mother has sent for him to come join her in China.

Myunghee lives with her grandmother and survives by foraging for plants to sell. She also loves dancing to South Korean music in secret with her best friend. At night, she stares at the glowing lights of China across the river from North Korea, dreaming of a life where she can sing, dance, and shout anytime, anywhere. She realizes there is no future for her in her home country as an orphan, and resolves to escape to China.

Yunho and Myunghee meet during a chance encounter at a public execution the day before Yunho is supposed to leave: Myunghee stops Yunho from trying to save his friend, thus saving his life from the soldiers standing guard. At this point, one might expect them to become fast friends, but instead, Yunho flees into the crowd and both children are separately smuggled into China that same night.

Yunho successfully reaches his mother, but Myunghee’s broker sells her to an elderly Chinese woman who uses her to do chores. While Yunho joyfully reunites with his mom and fills his belly, Myunghee plots her second escape. The two children encounter each other again while Myunghee is on the run, and Yunho’s mother offers her safe haven. Together, the trio hides in China until the time comes for them to begin their journey to the final destination: the United States of America. I don’t want to spoil the entire book for you, so I won’t elaborate on the mishaps that befall them along the way.

Overall, I found The Other Side of Tomorrow to be a beautiful graphic novel that finds its stride and pulls the reader in. I wish the layout at the start of the book made it clearer which of the two protagonists the page would be about. Once Tina Cho’s story took off, I didn’t have trouble keeping track of the children’s separate storylines (which are riveting!). Deb JJ Lee’s art is full of beautiful colors and clean lines – I’m jealous of their ability to convey emotion so convincingly!

I found this graphic novel shelved in the children’s section of my library, but I’d recommend it to readers of all ages interested in learning more about life and the experiences of those trying to escape the oppressive regime in North Korea. I hadn’t heard the term “Asian Underground Railroad” before, but it is apt, and Tina Cho dedicates The Other Side of Tomorrow to its helpers. (I should read Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia’s Underground Railroad, too!)