In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
“I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.” - Yeonmi Park
"One of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard - and one of the most inspiring." - The Bookseller
“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
In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.
Park confronts her past with a startling resilience. In spite of everything, she has never stopped being proud of where she is from, and never stopped striving for a better life. Indeed, today she is a human rights activist working determinedly to bring attention to the oppression taking place in her home country. Park’s testimony is heartbreaking and unimaginable, but never without hope. This is the human spirit at its most indomitable.
"One of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard - and one of the most inspiring." - The Bookseller
“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
In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom.
Park confronts her past with a startling resilience. In spite of everything, she has never stopped being proud of where she is from, and never stopped striving for a better life. Indeed, today she is a human rights activist working determinedly to bring attention to the oppression taking place in her home country. Park’s testimony is heartbreaking and unimaginable, but never without hope. This is the human spirit at its most indomitable.
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Community Reviews
Another amazing story of a North Korean defector. It's hard to imagine everything she went through to gain her freedom.
This book was such a moving, sad, inspiring tale of bravery from a woman who just wanted to survive.
This book had me smiling, crying and on the edge of my seat. Such a remarkable story; a simple review cannot do it justice. Any amazingly honest account of an amazing life.
I’m so glad I read this. It’s definitely a book that makes you want to DO SOMETHING about the situation in North Korea. (I do not know what to do yet — right now just praying to God to turn the tide for the citizens of North Korea.) Yeonmi’s is an incredible, painful story of survival. She’s done a lot of interviews that share additional details not covered in the book. I’d recommend listening to some of those as well, to hear her voice and how she is doing today. She has a second book out too.
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