In North Korea, people who are actually oppressed don't even know they're oppressed. — 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 literally crossed through the middle of the Gobi Desert to be free. But what I did was nothing, so many people… — 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… — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I didn't know people can be good. I didn't know people are designed to be good and help one another. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I wanted to show North Korean people that they have hope, and they can be free someday, like myself. — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I mean I could not trust men again. I hated men. I hated humanity. How on earth can people sell each other? — Park Yeon-mi Copy Share Image
I came to South Korea with a feeling of deep kinship, but people here perceive me only as a talbukja, someone of… — 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
When I was in South Korea, the books that I read about Americans were actually Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. If this… — 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
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
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
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 restaurants, when people order food - and they have menus - I hate that. Just give me something to eat. Quantity… — 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
My favorite movies were 'Titanic,' 'James Bond' and 'Pretty Woman' - people smuggled in pirate copies from China. — 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
I couldn't imagine that I'd ever see men as normal people and I could never trust them. I couldn't bear any human… — 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
North Korea cannot change because its people don't realize that there is an alternative to their suffering. — 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
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
