--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d…" description: "\"“Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly alive; part of me had been walled off, silenced.”\" — Masaji Ishikawa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg" --- # Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly… ![“Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly alive; part of me had been walled off, silenced.” quote by Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg) > ““Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly alive; part of me had been walled off, silenced.”” [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living under oppressive regimes can feel like being cut off from authentic self‑expression, leaving one numb and disconnected. **In simple terms:** Oppression stifles true vitality. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connection despite constraints. Themes freedom identity oppression Mood lonely defiant Type personal political When to use this quote - exile - creative expression - mental health - political activism Key Concepts psychological isolation censorship Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals maintain a sense of self under severe censorship? - What small actions can restore feeling alive? A Different Perspective Even small acts of self‑expression can be risky and may not change systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [North korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korea/) ## Related quotes > [“I was amazed we’d got through the checkpoint so easily. 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But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? 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Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. 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The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly alive; part of me had been walled off, silenced.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Masaji Ishikawa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-never-felt-truly-alive-part-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-never-felt-truly-alive-part-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce2/masaji-ishikawa-5495_north-korea_ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-nev_1017492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ever since moving to North Korea, I’d never felt truly alive; part of me had been walled off, silenced.” — Masaji Ishikawa", "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": "Masaji Ishikawa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ever since moving to North Korea,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-never-felt-truly-alive-part-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/ever-since-moving-to-north-korea-i-d-never-felt-truly-alive-part-of/#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 } } ] } ```