HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

In Order to Live: Yeonmi Park's North Korean Defector Story

Views:1015
@ReasonVids

“I didn’t know what freedom was,” says Yeonmi Park, author of In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom. “I didn’t even know the word. I didn’t know the concept. I never heard of that word, ‘freedom’. To me, the happiest thing was having food.”

Yeonmi's story begins with her first steps out of North Korea on March 31, 2007. She crossed the frozen Yalu River with her mother in the dead of night, arriving in China with only a vague idea what to do next. She was only thirteen years old. It was the beginning of a harrowing, years-long journey that would take her across China, through the vast Gobi desert, all the way to the Mongolian border, before finally reaching South Korea by plane.

It took exceptional strength of character for Yeonmi to survive the journey. Living outside of the law, she was subjected to constant abuse; starvation and suicide were rarely far away. Her father crossed the border to join her, but he died of untreated cancer a few months later.

“My father died without knowing even this kind of democracy exists in the world," she told Reason TV. "He didn’t even know this much food was available in the world. And if I could've had the things that Americans throw away, I never would’ve escaped North Korea. That’s how much we were desperate.”

Yeonmi Park's survival story has captivated thousands of readers and propelled her into the spotlight around the world. But how much of it is true?

Pyongyang has produced a lengthy video that attempts to discredit key parts of story. In melodramatic fashion, "Park Yeon Mi, The Puppet of the Human Rights Plot" vilifies Yeonmi and her mother, accusing them of being agents of the United States. Doubters have emerged from outside North Korea, as well, calling her a “celebrity defector”. Critics say they've found discrepancies in her life story and inaccuracies in her depiction of her native country.

For her part, Yeonmi insists on the truth of her story. Some details, she says, were changed to protect family members still living in North Korea. Other events, such as the sexual abuse she endured during her defection, have been shrouded in shame. “I had a reason to hide my secret,” she told Reason TV. “I didn’t want to admit I was raped when I was thirteen years old.” She has attributed other misstatements to her poor command of the English language.

As compelling as her story is, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the community of tens of thousands of North Korean refugees worldwide. Any exaggeration of the facts threatens to undermine their own narratives of widespread human rights abuses and political persecution. Their cause depends on the credibility of stories that are locked inside the world's most secretive nation, making them difficult, and sometimes impossible, to verify.

“I know the truth of North Korea,” Yeonmi said. “The oppression and their tragedy. It cannot be silenced.”

Produced by Todd Krainin. Cameras by Josh Swain.

Runs 29:18

Go to https://reason.com/reasontv/2015/11/13/yeonmi-park-north-korean-defector for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

park yeon-mi
,
north korea (country)
,
kim jong-un (politician)
,
china
,
defector
,
in order to live: a north korean girl's journey to freedom
    Thumbnail for Comedy, Outrage, and College: What We Saw at the "Can We Take a Joke?" Premiere3:20
    Comedy, Outrage, and College: What We Saw at the "Can We Take a Joke?" Premiere
    ReasonVids
    911 views
    Thumbnail for No one should need a college degree to work in a day care1:12
    No one should need a college degree to work in a day care
    IJvids
    951 views
    Thumbnail for 5 Facts About Guns, Schools, & Violence2:27
    5 Facts About Guns, Schools, & Violence
    ReasonVids
    904 views
    Thumbnail for Hopes and Fears for the Obama Administration3:45
    Hopes and Fears for the Obama Administration
    ReasonVids
    921 views
    Thumbnail for Pot is Legal in Colorado. So Why Can't You Smoke It Anywhere?6:35
    Pot is Legal in Colorado. So Why Can't You Smoke It Anywhere?
    ReasonVids
    869 views
    Thumbnail for Tyrone harassing a young jewish couple on the Eastern Front, 1942 (colorised)0:15
    Tyrone harassing a young jewish couple on the Eastern Front, 1942 (colorised)
    AOU
    1096 views
    Thumbnail for Me training for when Ben Shapiro finally sics Abby on me 0:06
    Me training for when Ben Shapiro finally sics Abby on me
    bestofupgoat
    52 views
    Thumbnail for Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic and Sally22:49
    Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic and Sally
    somepkmn-lovingdude
    267 views
    Thumbnail for Barbara Branden on the Passion of Ayn Rand7:38
    Barbara Branden on the Passion of Ayn Rand
    ReasonVids
    931 views
    Thumbnail for Nuclear Physicist DEBUNKS Greenpeace Nuclear Energy LIES | Elina Charatsidou18:25
    Nuclear Physicist DEBUNKS Greenpeace Nuclear Energy LIES | Elina Charatsidou
    invidious
    433 views
    Thumbnail for neeyanen ninavil ❤️ #shorts #trendingonshorts #love | Praveen Pranav0:45
    neeyanen ninavil ❤️ #shorts #trendingonshorts #love | Praveen Pranav
    invidious
    107 views
    Thumbnail for @Sal_180 finally places in a competition!0:32
    @Sal_180 finally places in a competition!
    bestofupgoat
    78 views
    Thumbnail for NASA admits we never went to the moon.9:03
    NASA admits we never went to the moon.
    bestofvoatxyz
    972 views
    Thumbnail for The Stupid Party in Action4:57
    The Stupid Party in Action
    AmericanRenaissance
    1301 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Government-Run Schools Crush Innovation6:05
    Stossel: Government-Run Schools Crush Innovation
    ReasonVids
    935 views
    Thumbnail for The Fight Against California's Electric Skateboard Ban4:15
    The Fight Against California's Electric Skateboard Ban
    ReasonVids
    1014 views
    Thumbnail for US 4-Star general tweets video game as real Ukraine war battle0:26
    US 4-Star general tweets video game as real Ukraine war battle
    bestofvoatxyz
    3168 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Spiderwebs (No Doubt IRS Parody)2:10
    Remy: Spiderwebs (No Doubt IRS Parody)
    ReasonVids
    981 views
    Thumbnail for The Growing Libertarian Youth Movement: Q&A with SFL's Alexander McCobin and Blayne Bennett2:16
    The Growing Libertarian Youth Movement: Q&A with SFL's Alexander McCobin and Blayne Bennett
    ReasonVids
    864 views
    Thumbnail for Sword swallowing0:28
    Sword swallowing
    bestofupgoat
    181 views
    Thumbnail for TED Curator Chris Anderson on the "TED-ification" of Education8:42
    TED Curator Chris Anderson on the "TED-ification" of Education
    ReasonVids
    924 views
    Thumbnail for The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 2 Episode 720:49
    The Whitest Kids U'Know Season 2 Episode 7
    wkuk.topic
    465 views
    Thumbnail for How Jay Leno Changed the Politics of Late Night8:48
    How Jay Leno Changed the Politics of Late Night
    ReasonVids
    1043 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Imagine There's No YouTube (John Lennon Parody)2:30
    Remy: Imagine There's No YouTube (John Lennon Parody)
    ReasonVids
    904 views
    Thumbnail for Patient gets a lapdance0:07
    Patient gets a lapdance
    bestofupgoat
    493 views

points

Permalink
Reply
park yeon-mi
,
north korea (country)
,
kim jong-un (politician)
,
china
,
defector
,
in order to live: a north korean girl's journey to freedom
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle