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

by Yeonmi Park

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

There were so many desperate people on the streets crying for help that you had to shut off your heart or the pain would be too much. After a while you can’t care anymore. And that is what hell is like.

Just about every morning we woke up to the sound of the national anthem blaring on the government-supplied radio. Every household in North Korea had to have one, and you could never turn it off.

Now when I travel to places like America and England in April and May, I have the luxury of enjoying nature and drinking in the beauty of spring flowers. But I also remember the time when I cursed the bright green hills and wished those flowers were made of bread or candy.

It’s still hard to fathom why we went along with all of this, except that we were caught between fear and hope.

If the Chinese government would end its heartless policy of sending refugees back to North Korea, then the brokers would lose all their power to exploit and enslave these women. But of course if North Korea wasn’t such a hell on earth, there wouldn’t be a need for the women to flee in the first place.

my mind and to block out the bad memories. But I found that as I read more, my thoughts were getting deeper, my vision wider, and my emotions less shallow.

Don’t Beat Someone, Even with Flowers, written by a famous Korean actress and humanitarian named Kim Hye Ja,