Story highlights 'The Accusation' is the first anti-North Korea book written by someone still living inside

South Korean activist said Bandi wrote it out of 'love' for North Korea's people

Seoul (CNN) They say fact is stranger than fiction. One book smuggled out of North Korea encapsulates both.

Written by a dissident writer still living inside the country, "The Accusation; Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea" is a collection of short stories about the lives of regular people, who live without freedom and under constant scrutiny.

Officially fiction, the book is considered to be a reflection of life under North Korean rule. The author is known simply as "Bandi", Korean for firefly, a pen name he apparently chose himself.

The South Korean activist who helped smuggle it out, Do Hee-youn, tells CNN: "It doesn't deal with political prison camps, or public executions, human rights issues. It shows normal life of North Korea citizens and it is very frightening. This book shows that they live like slaves."

The book was first published in Korean in May 2014, and translated into French in 2015. It was published last month in the United States and United Kingdom and is now available in 19 languages.

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