Sylvia

“A second chance? I thought. A second chance is what criminals get. I knew I wasn’t a criminal; I did what I had to do to survive and save my family.”
― Yeonmi Park, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

“There were so many desperate people on the streets crying for help that you had to shut off your heart or the pain would be too much. After a while you don't care anymore. And that is what hell is like.”
― Yeonmi Park, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

“But when I was seven or eight years old, the film that changed my life was Titanic. It amazed me that it was a story that took place a hundred years ago. Those people living in 1912 had better technology than most North Koreans! But mostly I couldn’t believe how someone could make a movie out of such a shameful love story. In North Korea, the filmmakers would have been executed. No real human stories were allowed, nothing but propaganda about the Leader. But in Titanic, the characters talked about love and humanity. I was amazed that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were willing to die for love, not just for the regime, as we were. The idea that people could choose their own destinies fascinated me. This pirated Hollywood movie gave me my first small taste of freedom.”
― Yeonmi Park, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

“when you have more words to describe the world, you increase your ability to think complex thoughts.”
― Yeonmi Park, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom