In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

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I never expect a biography or memoir to be 100% true - memory is simply not that reliable. As someone who has experienced various forms of assault I also understand if some things have only recently come out because she was ashamed or uncomfortable talking about them. Park, Yeonmi; Shearlaw, Maeve (29 October 2014). "The North Korean defector who continues to defy regime – live Q&A as it happened". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 November 2014. I’ve read a few books from North Korea defectors. Most noticeably A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea and Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, but I hadn’t really read anything from a purely female perspective until now. Further claims about North Korea made by Park were debunked by Professor Andrei Lankov, including Park's claims that North Koreans do not have access to world maps, and that North Koreans are not taught basic maths including "1+1=2". [3]

Yeonmi, being only 4 years younger than me (she’s 23 currently) had faced brutal hardships to get through to where she is now. It’s truly a wonder she could smile the way she does now. Park’s remarkable and inspiring story shines a light on a country whose inhabitants live in misery beyond comprehension. Park’s important memoir showcases the strength of the human spirit and one young woman’s incredible determination to never be hungry again.” —Publishers Weekly Hakim, Danny (25 October 2014). "The World's Dissidents Have Their Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 25 September 2015. In early 2023, a screenshot of Yeonmi Park's interview with Joe Rogan became an internet meme; [17] [8] [18] the format of the meme is a screenshot accompanied by a caption detailing an unbelievable story. [3] According to the editor of Know Your Meme, Don Caldwell, "The joke is that she'll say anything that's just wildly outlandish, and Joe will just accept it as true." [3] Finances [ edit ]Thompson, Nathan A. "The Ethics of Taking a Trip to North Korea as a Tourist". NBC News . Retrieved 3 November 2014.

After her Dublin speech, Yeon-mi became the human face of North Korea’s oppressed. The media clamoured for interviews. A book deal followed, which was where I came into the picture. As Yeon-mi’s “collaborator” – a publishing term for a writer who helps an author find her voice and turn her story into a narrative – I was immediately taken with the power of Yeon-mi’s testimony, as well as the warmth of her personality and her playful sense of humour. It was hard to fathom how this vibrant young woman could have suffered such an ordeal. Your mother and sister went through journeys as difficult as your own. What did this experience teach you about the importance of family?

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a b Collman, Ashley (15 June 2021). "A North Korean defector says going to Columbia University reminded her of the oppressive regime, saying she felt forced to 'think the way they want you to think' ". Yahoo News . Retrieved 7 August 2021.

Then she said, 'Did you know those writers had a colonial mindset? They were racists and bigots and are subconsciously brainwashing you." Park, Yeonmi (14 February 2023). While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-668-00333-6. In this day and age, to learn that an entire country is being starved to death. Having little clothing, medicine and other necessities, is mind boggling. In some ways, it reminds me of Hitler during World War II when he gradually brainwashed the people under his power to hate the Jewish people. To control their thinking. The Jewish people were doing everything to stay alive while being brutally persecuted. North Koreans, like the author, are also struggling to stay aliv under the evil regime in power. The world needs to wake up and free these people. The Jewish people were systematically murdered for years. North Koreans are also persecuted, tortured and jail in hard labor camps. Again, this needs to stop. In 2014, Jolley questioned Park's claim that during the night of her escape from North Korea, she crossed several mountains. Jolley noted that there are no mountains between Park's hometown of Hyesan and China, and that the two countries are instead separated by a river. In response, Park wrote, "And there are mountains you can even see on Google Earth – maybe you call them big hills in English – outside of Hyesan that we crossed to escape." [7] In multiple interviews Park says she escaped North Korea with both her mother and father, however during the One Young World Summit in Dublin, Park claimed that only her mother had accompanied her and that she watched her being raped by a Chinese man. [7] Does this fresh revelation in any way diminish this remarkable young man’s credibility? Absolutely not. It only shows how traumatic narratives sometimes come out in fits and starts. The whole story does not emerge until the survivor finds a way to tell it. But for those who have the patience to listen closely, the stories gather and build to a heroic and truthful testimony of survival that cannot be silenced.

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There are thousands of people who are going through this and their stories cannot be heard. If you can be more open about this, then it will help others talk about it. In North Korean society, for a woman to admit these kinds of things, it’s the end of the world. Our tradition is purity, virginity – for a woman, that is everything. A woman cannot talk about the bad things that happen to her. So writing this did feel like the end of the world for me. South Korea: Scrap Bill Shielding North Korean Government". Human Rights Watch. 5 December 2020 . Retrieved 3 May 2021.