In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
by Yeonmi Park
Yeonmi is thirteen years old when she escapes from North Korea with her mother. This memoir tells about Yeonmi’s childhood growing up in North Korea. Not having enough food was a regular occurrence. You always had to be careful what you said, as the police could arrest you for anything. Life was brutal.
Life is not much better after she escapes to China with her mother. They are sold like a sack of potatoes and become a part of human trafficking. They follow along because they are scared to be sent back to North Korea where they would be imprisoned or killed for trying to escape.
Meanwhile the family has not heard from Yeomi’s older sister in years since she escaped herself. Yeonmi’s father is also still behind in North Korea. After two years, Yeomi and her mother make their freedom to South Korea.
Meanwhile the family has not heard from Yeomi’s older sister in years since she escaped herself. Yeonmi’s father is also still behind in North Korea. After two years, Yeomi and her mother make their freedom to South Korea.
This was an interesting memoir about a peek into life in North Korea, a place so different from where we live. The dictator is seen as a hero and in one part she says there is no religion in North Korea and basically the dictator is treated as a god. People are starving and bribery seems pretty common. The North Koreans are taught that everybody else in the world is evil.
An interesting read about a different culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment