Born in North Korea, human rights activist and TED Speaker Yeonmi Park grew up in a punishing society devoted to the worship of Kim Jong-Il. But at the age of 13, she and her family made a daring escape to China in search of a life free of tyranny. In her viral talks, viewed online nearly 350 million times, Park urges audiences to recognize—and resist—the oppression that exists in North Korea, and around the world.
Growing up in Hyesan, North Korea, it was normal for Park to see dead bodies as she walked to school, and to be so hungry that she ate wild plants. After watching a pirated copy of
, the veil of tyranny began to fall. Having caught a glimpse of a free world, Park realized that her experience of life wasn’t the only one—and that she might one day find a way out. In 2002, Park’s family suffered a crucial blow when her father was arrested and sent to prison camp for engaging in “illegal trading”—selling materials that no one would be punished for in a free society. In 2007, Park’s sister escaped with a friend before she and her mother followed her to China. But before they could locate her, Park and her mother were sold separately to Chinese human traffickers. In 2009, Park and her mother crossed the Gobi Desert to Mongolia from China in -40-degree weather, finding their freedom in South Korea. She recounts this incredible story in her searing memoir,
The Americans Who Have Gone To North Korea
An insightful and candid speaker, Park is fast becoming a leading voice of oppressed people around the world. At the Oslo Freedom Forum and the One Young World Summit in Dublin, she became an international phenomenon, delivering passionate and deeply personal speeches about the brutality of the North Korean regime. Her address to One Young World on the horrors of detention camps, political executions, and sex trafficking has been viewed over 320 million times. The BBC named Park one of their “Top 100 Global Women.” Park is also the author of
The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Iowa Memorial Union’s Main Lounge, with doors opening at 6:15 p.m. Park will have a Q&A feature following her lecture: We always invite individuals with differing viewpoints to take full advantage of this opportunity. The event is free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on the YouTube Channel: YAFTV. We do not require tickets.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Iowa Young Americans for Freedom in advance at studorg-yaf@uiowa.edu or studorg-yaf@uiowa.edu.In this Ted Talk essay on “My Escape From North Korea” by Hyeonseo Lee, the speaker provides a summary of her early life in North Korea and the adverse conditions she faced as a North Korean refugee in China and South Korea. More so, Lee articulates the challenges she encountered in helping her family to escape from North Korea. In particular, reflecting on the nature and lessons about the miserable life experienced by North Koreans is important because of the growing incidences of human rights violations in North Korea.
The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story By Hyeonseo Lee
The video mainly portrays the significance of resilience and hope to an individual even when life seems hard and challenging. For instance, Lee recounts the adverse experience that involved being tested on her fluency in the Chinese language (04:15-05:08). As a young child, the testing by the police exposed her to distress. However, the existence of cultural exchanges between neighboring countries enabled Lee to learn Chinese easily (Yang 72). The hope for a better life in China and South Korea made Lee resilient to the harsh conditions encountered in the defection process. Therefore, Lee’s speech shows that the presence of hope in a person’s mind is very significant in boosting one’s sense of resilience toward challenging conditions.
The video relates to the COVID-19 illness that people experienced in 2021 because both cases needed a sense of hope to survive. Just like Lee, who had never encountered starvation in her early days, most people had never faced any serious illness in their entire life. The new land border law in China continues to deter North Koreans from crossing over (Bartlett par. 1). Migration laws related to COVID-19 are strongly reducing the hope of North Koreans in search of better lives elsewhere. Consequently, people in North Korea, just like Lee’s early starvation experience, are bound to continue facing challenging living conditions.
Most importantly, the video depicts the hard life encountered by the people in and out of North Korea. Human rights activists have often condemned the oppressive rule in North Korea, which involves the denial of basic freedoms to the people (Yeo and Chubb 61). The violation of human rights, such as freedom of speech and the right to a free and fair trial, among others, have led to the loss of lives. Therefore, the violation of human rights continues to prevail, leading to the persistent suffering of people in North Korea.
Amazon.com: The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story: 9780007554836: Lee, Hyeonseo, John, David: Books
The information can be used in advancing awareness campaigns about the situation in North Korea. Lee provided a highlight of the adversities that North Koreans are facing, such as the public executions that seemed like a normal life in North Korea (00:50–00:57). People can use the information to run an online campaign aimed at influencing organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), to help North Korean refugees, instead of being repatriated to face imprisonment and public executions. Consequently, awareness campaigns can increase the pressure on governments to help North Korean refugees.
The one thing that can surprise readers is the stranger who helped Lee to get her family out of jail. In Lee’s speech, the stranger went ahead to withdraw money to help in saving her family (09:48 – 10:13). The good heart portrayed by this man is a very big surprise as many people today are focused on helping themselves and their families. Thus, the stranger’s actions indicate that there still exist people with good and caring hearts.
Conclusively, Lee’s speech portrays the challenges and suffering encountered by North Koreans in trying to secure better living conditions in and out of their country. In turn, a sense of resilience and hope is crucial in facing challenging situations. Therefore, people need to show more international awareness and intervention about the condition of life in North Korea.
My Escape From North Korea (ted Talk)
The information can be used in advancing awareness campaigns about the situation in North Korea. Lee provided a highlight of the adversities that North Koreans are facing, such as the public executions that seemed like a normal life in North Korea (00:50–00:57). People can use the information to run an online campaign aimed at influencing organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), to help North Korean refugees, instead of being repatriated to face imprisonment and public executions. Consequently, awareness campaigns can increase the pressure on governments to help North Korean refugees.
The one thing that can surprise readers is the stranger who helped Lee to get her family out of jail. In Lee’s speech, the stranger went ahead to withdraw money to help in saving her family (09:48 – 10:13). The good heart portrayed by this man is a very big surprise as many people today are focused on helping themselves and their families. Thus, the stranger’s actions indicate that there still exist people with good and caring hearts.
Conclusively, Lee’s speech portrays the challenges and suffering encountered by North Koreans in trying to secure better living conditions in and out of their country. In turn, a sense of resilience and hope is crucial in facing challenging situations. Therefore, people need to show more international awareness and intervention about the condition of life in North Korea.
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