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

by Yeonmi Park

in the North there are no words for things like “shopping malls,” “liberty,” or even “love,” at least as the rest of the world knows it.

“defectors” because by refusing to accept our fate and die for the Leader, we have deserted our duty.

without the whole truth my life would have no power, no real meaning.

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

But I also know that the spark of human dignity is never completely extinguished, and that given the oxygen of freedom and the power of love, it can grow again. This is my story of the choices I made in order to live.

But there was human intimacy and connection, something that is hard to find in the modern world I inhabit today.

When you have so little, just the smallest thing can make you happy—and that is one of the very few features of life in North Korea that I actually miss.

was taught never to express my opinion, never to question anything. I was taught to simply follow what the government told me to do or say or think.

For more than four thousand years there has been one Korean people, but many different Koreas.

died when I was still a little girl. In North Korea, if one member of the family commits a serious crime, everybody is considered a criminal.

The United States dropped more bombs on North Korea than it had during the entire Pacific campaign in World War II.

the colorful jackets and high-waisted skirts that make them look like floating flowers—who sing such high and mournful songs that the audience bursts into tears.