In Order to Live

In Order to Live Plot Summary

Introduction

In the cold darkness of March 31, 2007, thirteen-year-old Yeonmi Park and her mother crept toward the frozen Yalu River that separates North Korea from China. Weighing only sixty pounds and weakened by a recent surgery, Yeonmi was desperate to escape a homeland where starvation had become commonplace. Though she wasn't dreaming of freedom—a concept she couldn't yet comprehend—she was willing to risk everything for the promise of a bowl of rice. This moment marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey that would take her across the perilous landscapes of China and the Gobi Desert, through unimaginable horrors of human trafficking, and eventually to a new life as an internationally recognized human rights advocate. Yeonmi Park's story is remarkable not only for its harrowing details of survival but also for what it reveals about the resilience of the human spirit. Born into one of the most oppressive regimes on earth, where even whispering could be dangerous, she transformed herself from a brainwashed child who believed the Great Leader could read her thoughts into an eloquent voice for those still trapped in North Korea. Through her journey, we witness the evolution of a young woman who discovers the true meaning of freedom, the power of education, and the courage required to confront painful truths. Her testimony offers rare insight into both the brutal realities of life under dictatorship and the universal human yearning for dignity and self-determination.

Chapter 1: The Closed World of North Korea

Yeonmi Park was born on October 4, 1993, in Hyesan, a North Korean city nestled along the border with China. She arrived prematurely, weighing less than three pounds, with doctors offering little hope for her survival. Yet survive she did, warmed by heated stones her mother placed in her blankets when the hospital could offer no further care. This early brush with death foreshadowed the resilience that would later define her life. Growing up in North Korea meant living in isolation from the outside world. As a child, Yeonmi could sometimes see the lights of China glowing across the river—a tantalizing glimpse of another reality. When Chinese children on the opposite bank would taunt North Korean children by asking if they were hungry, Yeonmi would defiantly shout back denials, though hunger was indeed a constant companion. Her childhood memories are filled with darkness and cold; electricity was so rare that neighborhoods would celebrate when lights briefly flickered on, even in the middle of the night. The Park family experienced both relative privilege and devastating hardship. Yeonmi's father, Park Jin Sik, worked as a civil servant but supplemented his income through the black market, trading metals and other goods. During better times, the family enjoyed small luxuries like watching smuggled foreign movies and playing Nintendo games. These glimpses of the outside world planted seeds of curiosity in young Yeonmi, particularly when she watched Titanic—a film that showed her people willing to die for love rather than for the regime. Education in North Korea served primarily as indoctrination. Yeonmi learned that the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il could control the weather with his thoughts and read citizens' minds. Mathematics problems involved counting dead American soldiers, and students practiced stabbing effigies of "Yankee devils" during recess. This relentless propaganda created what defector and former poet laureate Jang Jin Sung called an "emotional dictatorship," controlling North Koreans not just physically but emotionally, destroying individuality and creating unquestioning loyalty to the state. As the North Korean economy collapsed in the 1990s following the fall of the Soviet Union, even the Park family's relative privilege could not shield them from catastrophe. A devastating famine swept the country, eventually killing up to a million people. The government's response was to tell citizens to eat only two meals daily and work harder. Meanwhile, Yeonmi witnessed people dying in the streets and saw bodies stacked like wood behind her hospital when she had appendix surgery. Though surrounded by death and suffering, the propaganda was so effective that she could not process what she saw—the bodies in trash heaps and the frozen babies abandoned by starving mothers simply did not register as systemic failures of the regime. In 2002, disaster struck the Park family directly when Yeonmi's father was arrested for smuggling. At just eight years old, Yeonmi and her sister Eunmi were left alone for weeks at a time while their mother traveled to Pyongyang to try to help their father. Learning to survive by themselves in the bitter North Korean winter, the girls chopped wood with their small hands, scavenged for food, and comforted each other in the terrifying darkness. This period of abandonment forced Yeonmi to grow up quickly, taking responsibility not just for herself but for her older sister as well.

Chapter 2: Escape and Survival in China

By early 2007, after years of struggle following her father's imprisonment and eventual medical release, the Park family was desperate. With no future in North Korea, Yeonmi's parents began discussing escape. Their plan was initially for the girls to go first, then their mother, with their ill father joining later. When Yeonmi's older sister Eunmi disappeared after attempting to cross into China with a broker, thirteen-year-old Yeonmi and her mother decided to follow, hoping to find her. Their escape came on March 31, 2007. Still weak from recent surgery, Yeonmi and her mother were led by a smuggler to the frozen Yalu River under cover of darkness. After bribing some guards and avoiding others, they scrambled across the ice into China. What awaited them was not the freedom they had imagined but another form of captivity. The young North Korean guide had led them straight to human traffickers. Upon arrival, Yeonmi and her mother were immediately separated. She heard her mother pleading with a Chinese broker, then terrible noises she had never heard before. Only later did she learn the horrifying truth: the broker had wanted to rape Yeonmi, but her mother had sacrificed herself in her place. This was Yeonmi's first introduction to sexual violence, a brutal reality that would define much of her time in China. The mother and daughter were sold to different Chinese men. Yeonmi, though only thirteen, was forced to become the "little wife" of a human trafficker named Hongwei. She fought fiercely against his advances, even attempting suicide, until he proposed a deal: if she submitted, he would find her mother and help locate her father and sister. Seeing this as her only chance to save her family, Yeonmi made a calculated choice to survive. "I couldn't really think logically at the time," she later reflected, "but I recognized an opportunity to do something that was not just for me." Eventually, Hongwei kept part of his promise. He bought back Yeonmi's mother, and later helped her dying father cross into China, where he spent his final months with his family before succumbing to cancer. Throughout this time, Yeonmi was forced to work for Hongwei's trafficking operation, helping sell other North Korean women. Though she attempted to make their situations more bearable, she was part of a cruel system that exploited desperate refugees. Hongwei's protection came with a terrible price, but it also provided Yeonmi and her mother with relative stability in an environment where North Korean refugees lived in constant fear of being caught and repatriated. If returned to North Korea after attempting to escape, they would face imprisonment, torture, or execution. This reality forced them to endure unspeakable conditions rather than risk capture by Chinese authorities.

Chapter 3: Crossing the Gobi Desert

By early 2009, after nearly two years in China, Yeonmi and her mother were desperate for a way out. They had heard through another North Korean woman about Christian missionaries who helped refugees escape to Mongolia, and from there to South Korea. Though fearful of being caught, they contacted the underground network and made their way to the coastal city of Qingdao, where they joined a group of North Korean defectors preparing for the dangerous journey. At the missionary shelter, Yeonmi encountered Christianity for the first time. Having grown up worshipping the Kim dynasty as gods, she struggled to understand this new faith. One missionary explained it by saying, "Just think of God as Kim Il Sung and Jesus as Kim Jong Il. Then it makes more sense." Despite her confusion, Yeonmi embraced the religion that promised her a path to freedom, spending her days studying the Bible while waiting for her chance to escape. In late February 2009, after weeks of preparation, Yeonmi and her mother joined a small group attempting to cross into Mongolia. Their guide, a Chinese Christian missionary, drove them to the border town of Erlian in Inner Mongolia. From there, they would have to walk through the Gobi Desert at night, passing through five barbed-wire fences before reaching Mongolian territory. It was the dead of winter, with temperatures dropping to minus-27 degrees Fahrenheit. The night crossing was terrifying. Dressed in a thin tweed coat with no gloves or scarf, fifteen-year-old Yeonmi shivered uncontrollably as they navigated the featureless desert using only the stars and a compass. When searchlights swept over the terrain, they threw themselves to the ground, terrified of being captured. Wild animals circled in the darkness. "I was ready to give up, to lie down and die," Yeonmi recalled. "I couldn't walk another step." As they stumbled through the night, Yeonmi experienced a profound shift in her thinking. For the first time, she allowed herself to hate Kim Jong Il and blame him for their suffering. "I finally allowed myself to think bad thoughts about him because even if he could read my mind, I was probably going to die out here anyway," she wrote. This mental rebellion, though small, marked a significant step in her liberation from the regime's psychological control. Just before dawn, they reached the tall border fence and scrambled through a hole torn in the wire. As the sun rose, they realized they had made it to Mongolia—and freedom. But their ordeal wasn't over. Mongolian border guards initially threatened to send them back to China, which would have meant certain deportation to North Korea. The refugees refused to return, threatening suicide rather than repatriation. Eventually, the guards relented and took them to a military base.

Chapter 4: Adapting to Freedom in South Korea

After weeks in Mongolian detention facilities, Yeonmi and her mother boarded a flight to South Korea on April 20, 2009. Arriving at Incheon International Airport, Yeonmi was overwhelmed by the lights, the modern facilities, and the well-dressed South Koreans. "I stepped off the airplane onto a different planet," she recalled. Her shabby clothes and provincial manners made her feel instantly out of place in this dazzling new world. Like all North Korean defectors, Yeonmi and her mother spent their first weeks in South Korea at the National Intelligence Center, where they were interrogated to ensure they weren't spies. The questioning was often uncomfortable, particularly when officers asked about her experiences in China. One agent was skeptical when she expressed her dream of attending university: "Oh, I don't think you can do that," he scoffed. "But I suppose everybody should get a second chance." His words stung deeply, making Yeonmi feel that her past would forever define her future. After clearing security screening, they spent three months at Hanawon, a resettlement center where North Koreans learn the basics of modern life—from using ATMs and credit cards to navigating public transportation. The challenge wasn't just technological but psychological and linguistic. Even the Korean language had evolved differently in the South, with English words incorporated and new slang that Yeonmi couldn't understand. Simple classroom exercises bewildered her, like being asked to name her favorite color or hobby. "In North Korea, there was no 'I'—only 'we,'" she explained. "This whole exercise made me uncomfortable and upset." Upon release from Hanawon, Yeonmi and her mother settled in Asan, a small factory town about two hours from Seoul. Their government housing was in a dilapidated apartment complex alongside the elderly, disabled, and mentally ill. Though the conditions were poor, Yeonmi was determined to continue her education. She had missed years of schooling in North Korea and China, testing at a second-grade level despite being fifteen. Her first attempt to enroll in a local middle school ended in humiliation when students mocked her accent and called her an "animal-thing." Rather than give up, Yeonmi enrolled in special schools for North Korean defectors and began an extraordinary process of self-education. She devoured books, reading everything from children's stories to biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Hillary Clinton. She was particularly moved by George Orwell's "Animal Farm," which seemed to perfectly describe North Korea. "It was like finding a diamond in a mountain of sand," she wrote. "I felt as if Orwell knew where I was from and what I had been through." Within just two years, through relentless study and determination, Yeonmi passed her high school equivalency exam. By 2012, she had achieved what many thought impossible: admission to Dongguk University in Seoul, where she would study criminal justice. Her transformation from illiterate refugee to university student demonstrated not just her remarkable intelligence but her indomitable will to create a new identity in freedom.

Chapter 5: Finding Her Voice as a Human Rights Advocate

While attending university, Yeonmi was invited to appear on a South Korean television show called "Now on My Way to Meet You," which featured young North Korean women sharing stories about their homeland. Though initially reluctant, she agreed to participate in hopes that her missing sister Eunmi might see the broadcast in China and contact her. On the show, Yeonmi portrayed herself as a privileged North Korean who had enjoyed luxuries like Nintendo games and foreign movies, downplaying the horrors she had experienced. As she continued appearing on the program, something unexpected happened. Listening to other defectors' stories awakened her own suppressed memories and ignited a growing sense of purpose. Each testimony reinforced what she was learning in her university studies about the true nature of the North Korean regime. Gradually, she began to see herself not just as a survivor but as someone with a responsibility to speak for those still trapped in North Korea. In February 2014, Yeonmi gave her first speech in English about North Korea to students at a Canadian school in Seoul. The response was overwhelming—one student told her that her story had "inspired" him, a concept previously unknown to her. This led to more speaking engagements and media appearances, culminating in a powerful address at the One Young World Summit in Dublin in October 2014. Standing before 1,300 delegates in traditional Korean dress, Yeonmi broke down in tears as she described her escape and her mother's sacrifice. "The day I escaped North Korea, I saw my mother raped by a Chinese broker who had targeted me," she revealed publicly for the first time. Her emotional testimony went viral, bringing international attention to both North Korean human rights abuses and the plight of female refugees in China. Suddenly, Yeonmi found herself thrust into the global spotlight, giving dozens of interviews and speaking at conferences worldwide. As her profile rose, so did the risks. A South Korean police officer warned her that North Korean authorities were monitoring her activities, and her mother begged her to stop her activism. Instead, Yeonmi became more determined: "I had risked my life to escape from North Korea, yet they were still trying to control me. I would never be free if I let them do that." The North Korean government responded with propaganda videos calling her a "human rights puppet" and "the poisonous mushroom that grew from a pile of garbage." They paraded her relatives on state television to denounce her, and scrutinized her interviews for inconsistencies. Rather than silencing her, these attacks strengthened her resolve to tell her complete story, holding nothing back about her own trafficking and the systemic abuses faced by North Korean women. Through her advocacy, Yeonmi evolved from a young woman trying to forget her past into a powerful voice for justice. She realized that her personal story, however painful to tell, could illuminate the darkness of the North Korean regime and inspire action. "If my life was to mean anything," she concluded, "it was my only choice."

Chapter 6: Family Reunited and the Path Forward

In November 2013, while visiting the United States with a Christian youth mission, Yeonmi received an unexpected call from her mother in South Korea. "Yeonmi! Your sister! I've found your sister!" Eunmi, missing for nearly seven years, had somehow made it to South Korea on her own and was being processed at the National Intelligence Center. After all the years of searching and false leads, the sisters would finally be reunited. When Yeonmi rushed back to Seoul and was allowed to visit Eunmi at the Center, she immediately recognized something in her sister's hushed, tentative voice—the same cautious tone her father had used after his release from prison. Eunmi had endured her own traumatic journey through China, ultimately escaping through Southeast Asia to reach South Korea. Though physically reunited, the psychological distance between them would take time to bridge. With her family now together again, Yeonmi faced a crucial decision about her future path. In early 2015, she began working on her memoir, knowing that telling the complete truth about her experiences would be both liberating and potentially destructive. "I was sure nobody would ever look at me the same way if they knew what had happened to me, and what I had done to survive," she wrote. After an emotional all-night discussion with her mother and sister, she decided to reveal everything—her trafficking, her work selling other North Korean women, and all the painful details she had tried to forget. As Yeonmi's international profile grew, she temporarily set aside her university studies to focus on human rights advocacy. She traveled to New York to audit classes at Barnard College, learned about international law and human rights frameworks, and connected with organizations working for North Korean freedom. Her voice became increasingly powerful in calling for international action against the North Korean regime's human rights abuses. In spring 2015, Yeonmi's mother returned to China with her new partner to recover her father's ashes. After hours of searching the hills where they had buried him eight years earlier, they found his grave site—remarkably well-tended, with a tree planted beside it. Hongwei, the trafficker who had enslaved Yeonmi but also helped her family, had kept his promise to honor her father's memory. They brought the ashes back to South Korea, finally reuniting the family in death as in life. Looking toward the future, Yeonmi expressed hope that someday she might fulfill her father's wish to be buried in Hyesan, next to his ancestors. "If that time comes," she wrote, "I will visit my grandmother's grave as well and tell her that, once again, Chosun is whole." This vision of a reunified Korea represents not just a personal hope but a political one—that the 25 million North Koreans still living under dictatorship might someday experience the freedom she has found.

Summary

Yeonmi Park's remarkable journey from North Korean prisoner to global human rights advocate embodies the universal human yearning for freedom and dignity. From the frozen river crossing at age thirteen to standing before world leaders as a young woman, she transformed unimaginable suffering into a powerful force for change. Her story reveals that true freedom requires more than physical escape—it demands the courage to confront painful truths, the willingness to take responsibility for one's choices, and the compassion to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. The lessons of Yeonmi's life extend far beyond the specific context of North Korea. She reminds us that freedom is not merely the absence of physical constraints but the ability to think independently, to make meaningful choices, and to determine one's own identity. Her journey from brainwashed child to educated, articulate advocate demonstrates how education can liberate the mind even after the body is free. For anyone who has experienced trauma, crossed cultural divides, or struggled to find meaning in suffering, her testimony offers a profound affirmation that personal tragedy, when confronted with courage and honesty, can become a catalyst for both personal healing and social change.

About Author

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Yeonmi Park

Park Yeon-mi (Korean: 박연미) is a North Korean defector and human rights activist who escaped from North Korea to China in 2007 and settled in South Korea in 2009, before moving to the United States in 2014. She came from an educated, politically connected family that turned to black market trading during North Korea's economic collapse in the 1990s. After her father was sent to a labor camp for smuggling, her family faced starvation. They fled to China, where Park and her mother fell into the hands of human traffickers and was sold into slavery before escaping to Mongolia. She is now an advocate for victims of human trafficking in China and works to promote human rights in North Korea and around the globe.Park rose to global prominence after she delivered a speech at the One Young World 2014 Summit in Dublin, Ireland — an annual summit that gathers young people from around the world to develop solutions to global problems. Her speech, about her experience escaping from North Korea, received 50 million views in two days on YouTube and social media, with a current total of more than 80 million. Her memoir In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom was published in September 2015. from Wikipedia

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