--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People in the hostile class, which made…" description: "\"“People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per cent of the population, learned not to dream.”\" — Hyeonseo Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg" --- # People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per… ![“People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per cent of the population, learned not to dream.” quote by Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg) > ““People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per cent of the population, learned not to dream.”” [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Oppressed groups often lose hope due to systemic marginalization. **In simple terms:** Hardship crushes dreaming. Key Takeaway Address systemic injustice to restore hope. Themes oppression dreams social inequality Mood somber reflective Type social commentary philosophical When to use this quote - education reform - community support - policy advocacy Key Concepts psychology of hope political structures Questions to Reflect On - How can societies rebuild hope? - What actions restore dignity? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑rooted structures is slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class 40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-40-4348264/) [Hostile Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile-class-4348263/) [Learned Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-dream-1588394/) [People Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hostile-632437/) [Population Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/population-learned-1196612/) ## Related quotes > [“I just expanded my class from 40 to a class of 40 million”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dida-mohamed/i-just-expanded-my-class-from-40-to-a-class-of-40-million/) [Dida Mohamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dida-mohamed/) > [“We started with entitlement programs that generously met the needs of individuals unable to provide enough for themselves.  This slowly but surely created a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-s-kyle/we-started-with-entitlement-programs-that-generously-met-the-needs-of/) [G.S. Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-s-kyle/) > [Schools that are freely accessible allow the organization of certain specific learning tasks which a person might propose to himself. Schools, when they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/schools-that-are-freely-accessible-allow-the-organization-of-certain/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [“One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned has been to dream new dreams. When a dream is fulfilled, it shouldn’t become a straitjacket,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jai-pausch/one-of-the-greatest-life-lessons-i-ve-learned-has-been-to-dream-new/) [Jai Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jai-pausch/) > [“One of the greatest life lessons I've learned has been to dream new dreams. When a dream is fulfilled, it shouldn't become a straitjacket,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jai-pausch/one-of-the-greatest-life-lessons-i-ve-learned-has-been-to-dream-new-3/) [Jai Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jai-pausch/) > [Three hours of writing require twenty hours of preparation. Luckily I have learned to dream about the work, which saves me some working time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/three-hours-of-writing-require-twenty-hours-of-preparation-luckily-i/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned has been to dream new dreams. When a dream is fulfilled, it shouldn’t become a straitjacket,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-greatest-life-lessons-i-ve-learned-has-been-to-dream-new-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I discovered dancing, I learned to dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/when-i-discovered-dancing-i-learned-to-dream/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [I learned to dream through reading, learned to create dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers through teaching. I shall always be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-learned-to-dream-through-reading-learned-to-create-dreams-through/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learned that the dream of being in the biggest girl band in the world came with its flaws and consequences. Consequences such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-anne-pinnock/i-learned-that-the-dream-of-being-in-the-biggest-girl-band-in-the/) [Leigh-Anne Pinnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-anne-pinnock/) > [“From books, I winnowed the glue that held together my psyche as it struggled to stay whole. It was from stories and myths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-don-cook/from-books-i-winnowed-the-glue-that-held-together-my-psyche-as-it/) [J. Don Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-don-cook/) > [I saw people who were hostile; they had felt so much hurt that hostility was their only defense against being crushed again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/i-saw-people-who-were-hostile-they-had-felt-so-much-hurt-that/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [In England, the system is benign and the people are hostile. In America, the people are friendlyand the system is brutal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/in-england-the-system-is-benign-and-the-people-are-hostile-in-america/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-declaration-that-our-people-are-hostile-to-a-government-made-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Realization: I spend a large amount of my working day in all of my jobs dealing with people who are hostile to inconvenient facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/realization-i-spend-a-large-amount-of-my-working-day-in-all-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Hyeonseo Lee > [“The strength of my parents’ feelings for each other, however, was a worry to my grandmother. She warned them that if a couple loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/the-strength-of-my-parents-feelings-for-each-other-however-was-a/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“He’d valued his dignity more than his own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/he-d-valued-his-dignity-more-than-his-own-life/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“It was the dilemma all three of us had. Every choice we made cut us off permanently from someone we loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/it-was-the-dilemma-all-three-of-us-had-every-choice-we-made-cut-us/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“This was the first time I had ever known that North Korea has gay people. I am embarrassed to admit that I had thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/this-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-known-that-north-korea-has-gay/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“There was just one problem, however, and it was a major one. I wasn’t choosing any of this. It was all happening to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/there-was-just-one-problem-however-and-it-was-a-major-one-i-wasn-t/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“Most of the brokers who help defectors are human traffickers. They help women escape, not men. They’re paid to bring us to China either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/most-of-the-brokers-who-help-defectors-are-human-traffickers-they/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“I had to learn Mandarin. And I had the best teacher – necessity. You can study a language for years at school, but nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/i-had-to-learn-mandarin-and-i-had-the-best-teacher-necessity-you-can/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“In her world, the law was upside down. People had to break the law to live. The prohibition on drug-dealing, a serious crime in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/in-her-world-the-law-was-upside-down-people-had-to-break-the-law-to/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“I’ll do whatever it takes. Humans are selfish and care only for themselves and their families. Am I any different?… Not only did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/i-ll-do-whatever-it-takes-humans-are-selfish-and-care-only-for/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“Not only did I believe that humans were selfish and base, I also knew that plenty of them were actually bad – content to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/not-only-did-i-believe-that-humans-were-selfish-and-base-i-also-knew/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“Sixty thousand yuan – a fortune representing ten years’ wages at the restaurant – and a week’s imprisonment with the threat of rape, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/sixty-thousand-yuan-a-fortune-representing-ten-years-wages-at-the/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“Every so often the authorities registered voters in order to find out who was missing and why. I had turned eighteen and was old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/every-so-often-the-authorities-registered-voters-in-order-to-find-out/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“At the end of that first year at secondary school the ceremonies held on the anniversary of the Korean War affected me deeply and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/at-the-end-of-that-first-year-at-secondary-school-the-ceremonies-held/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“Afterwards, wedding photographs were taken, as was customary, at the feet of the great bronze statue of Kim Il-sung on Mansu Hill. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/afterwards-wedding-photographs-were-taken-as-was-customary-at-the/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) > [“It’s funny how the final straw is invariably a trivial incident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/it-s-funny-how-the-final-straw-is-invariably-a-trivial-incident/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) [Explore all 30 Hyeonseo Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) ## More People Hostile quotes > [Realization: I spend a large amount of my working day in all of my jobs dealing with people who are hostile to inconvenient facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/realization-i-spend-a-large-amount-of-my-working-day-in-all-of-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The declaration that our People are hostile to a government made by themselves, for themselves, and conducted by themselves, is an insult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-declaration-that-our-people-are-hostile-to-a-government-made-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In England, the system is benign and the people are hostile. In America, the people are friendlyand the system is brutal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/in-england-the-system-is-benign-and-the-people-are-hostile-in-america/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I saw people who were hostile; they had felt so much hurt that hostility was their only defense against being crushed again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/i-saw-people-who-were-hostile-they-had-felt-so-much-hurt-that/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [people who seem most hostile to my presence are those most fearful of my fate. And since their fear keeps them emotionally distant from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mairs/people-who-seem-most-hostile-to-my-presence-are-those-most-fearful-of/) [Nancy Mairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mairs/) > [Reporters immediately push their interviewees into the most extreme version by saying in a shocked tone, 'Well, are you saying that ..." They're trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/reporters-immediately-push-their-interviewees-into-the-most-extreme/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [There are also many instances where people hostile to the Soviet state are attempting by means of deceit and provocation to poison the minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filipp-golikov/there-are-also-many-instances-where-people-hostile-to-the-soviet/) [Filipp Golikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filipp-golikov/) > [We'd better work hard on getting rid of that must - Other people must do what I want them to do!" It's what makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/we-d-better-work-hard-on-getting-rid-of-that-must-other-people-must/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [“Everybody was pissed off in those days, but there were no socially acceptable outlets for hostility. "Hostile" was a word you heard constantly --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-goldman/everybody-was-pissed-off-in-those-days-but-there-were-no-socially/) [Albert Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-goldman/) [Browse all 10 People Hostile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hostile-632437/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per cent of the population, learned not to dream.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hyeonseo Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-up-about-40-per-cent-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People Hostile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-up-about-40-per-cent-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b62/hyeonseo-lee-20795_people-hostile_people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-u_2935328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People in the hostile class, which made up about 40 per cent of the population, learned not to dream.” — Hyeonseo Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Hyeonseo Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People in the hostile class, which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-up-about-40-per-cent-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/people-in-the-hostile-class-which-made-up-about-40-per-cent-of-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```