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
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
I wasn't dreaming of freedom when I escaped from North Korea... I was willing to risk my life for the promise of… — 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
In North Korea, people who are actually oppressed don't even know they're oppressed. — 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
In North Korea, it was actually an oppressive regime and that's why I escaped with my life. — 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
People would ask me about my hobbies and what I liked. I had never been asked those questions because what I thought… — 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
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 think my father would have become a millionaire if he had grown up in South Korea or the United States... Almost… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
In North Korea the math book says, you know, there are four American bastards. You kill two of them. Then how many… — 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
I never heard my father was telling my mother that I love you. But in the movie man tells woman I love… — 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
There's nothing I did wrong. I was just born in North Korea, and that was my crime. — 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
Nothing is forever, and I believe that North Korea will change in my lifetime. — 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
In North Korea, when there is an alarm, it means that there is a war drill. It means that you need to… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I thought America was different, but I saw so many similarities to what I saw in North Korea that I started worrying. — 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
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
When I was invited to return to the 2015 One Young World summit in Bangkok, I knew that I had to make… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
The year 2015 brought me so many further chances to spread the word about human rights violations in North Korea, from addressing… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
Back in 2014, at the One Young World Summit in Dublin, I shared my story of my escape from North Korea to… — 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
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
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
North Korea cannot change because its people don't realize that there is an alternative to their suffering. — 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
In North Korea I thought a frozen potato was the fanciest food in the world. — 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 Image
I was a slave. I was sold in China in 2007 as a child at 13 years old. — 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, human rights.… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
My favorite movies were 'Titanic,' 'James Bond' and 'Pretty Woman' - people smuggled in pirate copies from China. — 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
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
