Fiction versus nonfiction?

On this gorgeous Super Bowl Sunday, I have been blessed with time to read a few books. I have two non-fiction that I am reading to learn and two fiction, one for my book club and one to explore an author new to me. Although it is a tough read, the most compelling right now is called The Hidden People of North Korea by Ralph Hassig and Kongdan Oh. I have only read about 50 pages so far, but it is both fascinating and repellent as I read about the power of two men (Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il) to hold 20 million people hostage. The authors have interviewed hundreds of North Koreans who have escaped to the south or to other countries and have done extensive research to be able to verify the accounts they have heard. The people of North Korea have been kept in ignorance, are poorly educated, poorly fed and receive health care that is both antiquated and sporadic. All while the current leader, Kim Jong-Il, lives in one of his dozen modern, western-style villas complete with more food than most of his subjects see in six months. He publicly decries the starvation of his people, yet in private seems to not be affected by the hardships they face. What is it that makes a person able to ignore the rights of those less fortunate?