Is so far from the bamboo grove fiction or non fiction?

So far from bamboo grove is a factual story. In fact it is an autobiography about Yoko Kawashima being forced to flee her home in North Korea during the end of World War 2. They escape to south Seoul and later return to their homeland in Japan. In 2005 copies of the book were released in Korea, but it was banned after only selling 4,000 copies.