In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

Yeonmi Park · Maryanne Vollers

Sep 2015 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

“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.

Ratings and reviews

It's a book that will bring tears to your eyes, at the same time give you lots of inspiration and courage to do things. Yeonmi is such an inspiring author and her story deeply touch and open my eyes to how fortunate we are to be born in a democratic country. Love what she mention in a democracy, as long as you work hard you will be rewarded!

A wonderful book! This woman is a heroin. Her Life is a story of bravery and conviction, that should be recommended reading for all Americans. We are so incredibly blessed who is Liberty by founding fathers and mothers, but we have forgotten and lost a great deal of it to our own apathy and ignorance in search of the life of ease and entitlement.

So incredibly sad, inspiring, and intriguing. I had to constantly remind myself that it was true and not just a story. Certainly a heavy read, but I couldn't put it down. Informative but concise!

About the author

Yeonmi Park is a human rights activist who was born in North Korea. She is also the author of While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America. A graduate of Columbia University, she lives in New York City.