The Forest of Stolen Girls Quotes

“But there are two types of people,” Inspector Yu added, his voice quiet. “Those that retreat and huddle together like frightened birds, overwhelmed by the darkness of this kingdom, and those that grasp their freedom to struggle on the behalf of others, their eyes fixed on a great light that will always shine for those who seek it.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“The moment I chose to help you, I realized something.” Gahee finally lifted her gaze up to mine, and it was like seeing the faintest flicker of light in the darkness of night. “Doing what is right, it is so utterly terrifying. And yet so freeing.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Your life isn’t meant to be used up to fulfill another person’s dream. That’s what Mother told me. And I’m sure if Father had known your true feelings he would have said the same.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Those that call themselves 'nobody' are always people of significance. Or a person hiding a secret.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Now I realized why I’d so struggled to understand this man. It was because I’d imagined evil as being made of horns, spikes, and sharp teeth, not glowing with the appearance of goodness and respectability.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Sometimes what fathers think is for our good, is not something we desire at all.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“It wasn’t as scary as I thought, death. It was just leaving one place to go to another.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“What is that sixteen compared to the number of girls taken by the Joseon government? Every three years they capture girls to send as tribute to the Ming court. Hundreds of them. Girls disappear every day. They are sacrificed for a greater good.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“father can be both your protector and your worst enemy.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“am Father’s daughter too,” Maewol said, a little less forcibly. “And I am your sister, unless you’ve forgotten”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Girls disappear every day. Jeju women, especially, disappear all the time once they are older. They think they are free to act without restrictions and so venture out into the world. They disappear to live with their sweethearts, to hide their pregnancies, to sell themselves, to become gisaengs. The reasons are endless.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Let’s go home.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“My ears burned. This was the fate for all women. Yet the way Maewol spat it out made it sound like something outrageous.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“But when I think of him as a criminal … I can’t help but remember that he skipped his meals so that I could have a full belly.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“And you … You came all this way to find your father … If you were my daughter, I would be proud of you. And if your father were here, he would be proud too.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“And so lies could easily become the truth.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“veranda. “A frog in the water sees only a portion of the sky and thinks it knows the universe.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“You can choose to keep silent, he said, but if you do, would you be pleased with that decision in the years to come?”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“My father used to say that no matter how deep the lies, truth will always surface. For truth is unyielding; it will strive for the light year after year after year.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“You know, you can lose family, Min Hwani. Family whom you loved more than life. But you can also find family—those who come into your life a stranger yet make you feel as though you’ve known them for all your life”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“But there are two types of people.

Those that retreat and huddle together like frightened birds, overwhelmed by the darkness of this kingdom, and those that grasp their freedom to struggle on the behalf of others, their eyes fixed on a great light that will always shine for those who seek it.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Doing what is right, it is so utterly terrifying. And yet so freeing.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“A father can be both your protector and your worst enemy.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“Your life isn’t meant to be used up to fulfill another person’s dream.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“You know, you can lose family. Family whom you loved more than life. But you can also find family—those who come into your life a stranger yet make you feel as though you’ve known them for all your life.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“You must take care of yourself, or you will be unable to take care of others.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“The path into the palace was a treacherous one, filled with men like the village elder who would sacrifice many lives in pursuit of selfish ambition. And it was far away from Maewol.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“I thought of the other girls, the missing girls, who had been counting away for a year, waiting for family to come find them. But no one was going to find them, were they, for everyone who knew the truth was dead or dying. Seohyun. Father. Hyunok.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“No one survives killing a military official. And that is what your father did. He killed Detective Min, my father, with the same sort of arsenic that I was given yesterday.” “No.” Her brows crinkled.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls

“There is such an assortment of people, an assortment of knowledge. And I realized that the answer to his strange condition was no great mystery.”
― June Hur, The Forest of Stolen Girls