There is a holocaust going on in my country, the world needs to acknowledge that and do something to help the people… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea is an unimaginable country. We aren't free to sing, say, wear or think what we want. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I'll live longer than Kim Jong-un - he's fatter than me. He doesn't like me. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korea, people who are actually oppressed don't even know they're oppressed. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
The oppression is like nothing imaginable - I literally believed that Kim Jong-il could read my mind. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Why would North Korea people care if they have nukes or not? All they want is food. They want freedom. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Most North Korean people have never seen a map of the world. They don't even know that the Internet exists. They don't… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korea I literally believed that my Dear Leader was starving. He's the fattest guy - how can anyone believe that? — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
South Koreans often don't think of North Korean defectors as Korean. While we have been granted citizenship, the locals don't consider us… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I have visited slums in Mumbai, I have visited slums in other countries, but nothing is like North Korea because North Korean… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
If there is no word that means you don't have the concept. In North Korea they eliminate the words: depression, stress, dictatorship,… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I surrendered all my privacy to write this book. It was so hard and so painful. I went through so much crazy… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Before Kim Jong Il died, it wasn't like one day Kim Jong Un took over. Kim Jong Il made sure his son… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea is a religion. We are told that Kim is a god and that he knows what you are thinking and… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea was pretty insane. Like the first thing my mom taught me was don't even whisper, the birds and mice could… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea is a very Confucius country. We respect the elders, the hierarchy. It's not like America where anyone can step up… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korea, we never learned to think critically. There is no concept of individualism. The government treated us as less valuable… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
What you need to know about North Korea is that it's not like other countries like Iran or Cuba. In those countries,… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
We don't have friends in North Korea. We only have comrades. There's no concept of friends. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea cannot change because its people don't realize that there is an alternative to their suffering. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I thought Kim Jong Il was a god who could read my mind. I thought his spirit never dies, and I never… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Kim Jong-un and the regime don't just oppress - they play with human lives. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I know the truth of North Korea. The oppression and their tragedy. It cannot be silenced. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korea, it was actually an oppressive regime and that's why I escaped with my life. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I'm extremely grateful I was born in North Korea. If that didn't happen, there's no way I could understand other people's pain. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
My concern is: How on earth is anything more urgent than the lives of people in North Korean concentration camps? — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
We can agree that Kim Yo Jong is not taking over North Korea and I don't think that is in her interest. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
If I could've had the things that Americans throw away, I never would've escaped North Korea. That's how much we were desperate. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Everything in North Korea was about the leader, all the books, music and TV. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Kim Il Sung prepared Kim Jong Il for decades to be his successor and made it very clear from the beginning, 'This… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korean culture, love is a shameful thing and nobody talked about it in public. The regime was not interested in… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea spends billions of dollars to make this nuke test system. If they would spend just 20 percent of what they… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
North Korea publicly denounced me as an enemy of my people and punished all my relatives. They have this guilty by association… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I am an ambitious person. In the West, being ambitious isn't a bad thing. You work hard and you have a purpose… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Going to Columbia, the first thing I learned was 'safe space.' Every problem, they explained us, is because of white men. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
If there is no word that means you don't have the concept. In North Korea they eliminate the words: depression, stress, dictatorship, human rights.… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
My favorite movies were 'Titanic,' 'James Bond' and 'Pretty Woman' - people smuggled in pirate copies from China. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
Kim Jong-un and the regime don't just oppress - they play with human lives. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
My father died without knowing even this kind of democracy exists in the world. He didn't even know this much food was available in… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
That is what is happening in America. People see things, but still they've just completely lost the ability to think critically. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
North Korea is a religion. We are told that Kim is a god and that he knows what you are thinking and how many… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
I had to be very unrealistic about my situation. If I was so realistic I would never have made it this far. So, you… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
I thought North Koreans were the only people who hated Americans, but turns out there are a lot of people hating this country in… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
Back in 2014, at the One Young World Summit in Dublin, I shared my story of my escape from North Korea to China in… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
North Korea is a very Confucius country. We respect the elders, the hierarchy. It's not like America where anyone can step up and do… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
Everything in North Korea was about the leader, all the books, music and TV. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share
