Summary
“In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom” by Yeonmi Park is a memoir that recounts her life growing up in North Korea, her escape from the regime, and her fight to survive and reclaim her freedom.
Born in 1993, Yeonmi grew up under a totalitarian government that controlled what people could eat, think, and believe. Her family struggled with hunger and surveillance, and after her father was imprisoned for illegal trading, their situation worsened. At age 13, Yeonmi and her mother fled to China—but instead of safety, they fell into the hands of human traffickers.
The book follows Yeonmi’s harrowing experiences in China, including exploitation and abuse, and her eventual escape across the Gobi Desert into Mongolia and finally to South Korea. Along the way, she sheds light on the psychological and emotional toll of growing up in a country where dissent is punishable by death, and how escaping doesn’t immediately mean freedom.
Ultimately, “In Order to Live” is a story of survival, resilience, and the power of the human spirit. It’s both a deeply personal account and a stark indictment of the human rights abuses in North Korea and the hidden dangers of global trafficking.
Review
This memoir is deeply inspiring. While there are countless documentaries, news reports, and historical articles about North Korea, I had never encountered such a powerful, firsthand account. Yeonmi Park’s journey—escaping North Korea through the Gobi Desert into China—exposes the brutal realities of life under dictatorship, including harsh weather, starvation, and the trauma of being sex-trafficked.
Reading this book not only opens your eyes to the suffering endured by so many North Koreans, but also makes you reflect on and appreciate the freedoms you might take for granted. I highly recommend both reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook. Narrated by Eji Kim, the 9.5-hour audiobook brings Yeonmi’s story to life with an authenticity and emotional depth that pulls you into her world.