---
title: "1 Mind Allowed Quotes By Yeonmi Park"
description: "1 Mind Allowed quotes by Yeonmi Park. Plus more from Yeonmi Park and more Mind Allowed sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg"
---

> [“I could not feel, smell, see, hear, or taste the world around me. If I had allowed myself to experience these things in all their intensity, I might have lost my mind. If I had allowed myself to cry, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste-the-world-around-me-if-i-had/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg)

## More by Yeonmi Park

> [“For instance, we were always making mistakes with the unfamiliar products around us, and one time my mother squirted my perfume into her mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/for-instance-we-were-always-making-mistakes-with-the-unfamiliar/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“Still, I learned something important from my short time as a market vendor: once you start trading for yourself, you start thinking for yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/still-i-learned-something-important-from-my-short-time-as-a-market/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“I could not feel, smell, see, hear, or taste the world around me. If I had allowed myself to experience these things in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste-the-world-around-me-if-i-had/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“Despite all evidence to the contrary, I believed in a benevolent power guiding the universe, a loving force that somehow nudged us in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/despite-all-evidence-to-the-contrary-i-believed-in-a-benevolent-power/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“More important, while these students were in school, I was learning from life. And so I have something to offer that they do not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/more-important-while-these-students-were-in-school-i-was-learning/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“I learned something else that day: we all have our own deserts. They may not be the same as my desert, but we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/i-learned-something-else-that-day-we-all-have-our-own-deserts-they/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“There were so many desperate people on the street crying for help that you had to shut off your heart or the pain would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/there-were-so-many-desperate-people-on-the-street-crying-for-help/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“The doctors in Songnam-ri had to be farmers, too. They cultivated medicinal plants, and actually grew their own cotton to have a supply of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/the-doctors-in-songnam-ri-had-to-be-farmers-too-they-cultivated/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“These men were so handsome and spoke with such beautiful accents, like the South Koreans I had watched on pirated videos, that my mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/these-men-were-so-handsome-and-spoke-with-such-beautiful-accents-like/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“I understand that sometimes the only way we can survive our own memories is to shape them into a story that makes sense out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/i-understand-that-sometimes-the-only-way-we-can-survive-our-own/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“Even in big city hospitals there is no such thing as “disposable” supplies. Bandages are washed and reused. Nurses go from room to room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/even-in-big-city-hospitals-there-is-no-such-thing-as-disposable/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“...we all have our own deserts. Thet may not be the same as my desert, but we all have to cross them to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/we-all-have-our-own-deserts-thet-may-not-be-the-same-as-my-desert-but/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“Along my journey I have seen the horrors that humans can inflict on one another, but I've also witnessed acts of tenderness and kindness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/along-my-journey-i-have-seen-the-horrors-that-humans-can-inflict-on/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

> [“Then he sent us on our way. After we had walked a few steps, my mother and I looked back and saw that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/then-he-sent-us-on-our-way-after-we-had-walked-a-few-steps-my-mother/)

[Yeonmi Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yeonmi-park/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Mind Allowed Quotes By Yeonmi Park",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“I could not feel, smell, see, hear, or taste the world around me. If I had allowed myself to experience these things in all their intensity, I might have lost my mind. If I had allowed myself to cry, I might never have been able to stop. So I survived, but I never felt joy, never felt safe.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Yeonmi Park"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yeonmi-park/i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste-the-world-around-me-if-i-had/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I could not feel, smell, see, hear, or taste the world around me. If I had allowed myself to experience…” — Yeonmi Park",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/",
            "name": "Mind Allowed Quotes by Yeonmi Park",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/yeonmi-park-32948_activist_i-could-not-feel-smell-see-hear-or-taste_763801.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Mind Allowed quotes by Yeonmi Park. Plus more from Yeonmi Park and more Mind Allowed sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Mind Allowed",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Yeonmi Park",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-allowed/yeonmi-park/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```