In Order To Live by Yeonmi Park Book Review
If you like to listen to my review, check out my podcast episode over this book.
What's this book about?
Yeonmi Park is a North Korean defector. This is someone who escapes from North Korea into either China, South Korea, or both.
If caught, North Korea will most likely execute the person. Executions and tortures are a common thing to happen among the citizens in North Korea.
North Korea is this mystery country that we don't know much about. The only people that can give us the accurate stories are the ones that lived there like Yeonmi Park.
This is a biography and is broken up into three sections: North Korea, China, and then South Korea. I wouldn’t have minded a United States section because this is where she moved to in 2014 to finish this book. However, she provides this information about the United States in her new book called While Time Remains.
Who is Yeonmi Park?
- Human rights activist
- Known for escaping North Korea
- Now, she is a citizen in the United States
My review:
On Goodreads, I gave it a four out of five stars. It was a solid book that documented her life and the struggle it was from escaping and surviving in China.
It was a topic I wanted to know more about because my dad is from South Korea. I was curious what North Korea was like because it’s cut off from the world. The only way to know this information is from the defectors.
What did I like?
1. The story
It was a captivating story. I listened to the book, and I couldn't stop listening to it. A good amount of the stories are sad, but it provides the light and truth over escaping North Korea.
What did I not like?
1. More information on certain parts of her journey
Honestly, I wanted more information on her time in South Korea and then the United States. For South Korea, she did mention what she did there and how school was very hard. The information I wanted more of was the culture and what South Koreans do.
For the United States, she doesn’t mention anything about the United States. I wouldn’t have minded a fourth section over how she came to the US in 2014 to finish this book.
Any ideas I learned about:
1. The truth about North Korea
We don't know anything about North Korea. North Korea doesn't allow anyone from the US to visit the country. Sometimes, you'll able to travel to North Korea if you're a resident of another country, but would you want to?
It’s not like North Korea is showing you the horrible parts. If you visit, you’re seeing the most luxurious area: Kin Jim’s palace and what’s around there. Your tour is carefully monitored, and you’re only allowed in certain parts of the country.
The country is deemed as this luxury place, but it isn’t. Far from it.
This book provides the stories of what really goes on in North Korea. Where many people are working long hours, starving, and North Korea officials will execute you if you do anything against the law or if you look at them the wrong way.
The perspective for this person is her own view. Each defector’s views are going to be different. But what are your thoughts on this book? Did you like it or not? Let me know in the comments.
For written book reviews, check out my website: https://johnnysbookreviews.com/
For daily updates on what I read check out my Instagram, Facebook, or Goodreads: https://www.instagram.com/johnnysbookreviews/?hl=en, https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58859323-johnnysbookreviews, and https://www.facebook.com/johnnysbookreviews/
For my in depth reviews: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/johnnysbookreviews
