In Order To Live by Yeonmi Park

★★★★★

If, like me, you’re a fan of non-fiction true stories, then this is the book for you.

In Order To Live is the tale of Yeonmi Park, a North Korean woman who was born and grew up under the dictatorship of the Kim dynasty in North Korea. It’s her story of escaping North Korea and following the feeling in her heart of what it would mean to be free. Free from brainwashing, free from hunger, free from human trafficking, free from rape, and so much more.

Not only is Yeonmi’s struggle real and devastating, it offers a window into the lives of so many North Koreans whose perils and daily struggles are not often seen in Western media thanks to the governmental restrictions imposed in the North Korean regime - things like forced child labour, executions for those trying to escape, re-education camps which essentially mistreat and abuse their citizens, and widespread famine - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Interestingly, the book simultaneously shows how North Korean defectors (those born there trying to escape) were treated by other nations including China and Mongolia. The way she writes is simple, but fantastically effective in relaying her often troubled childhood.

Yeonmi is without doubt an extraordinary woman. A survivor who’s sheer will to reach and strive for a free life has given her just that.

Throughout the book, she comes back to the title of the book in relation to the things she has done in her past in order to live, and I couldn’t help thinking what I would have done in the same circumstances in order to live myself.