Log #5

In Order to Live

Yeonmi Park

The book that we chose as our group reading material is “In Order to Live.” It’s a story about a North Korean girl’s journey to freedom. Compared to other novels, the book is based on the real story. It’s a biography which describes the girl’s wish of getting rid of the control of North Korean.

        In the first three chapters, the author describes the way her family live in Hyesan. People in North Korean live close to nature. Without television, they have their own way of predicting the next ‘s day weather. When the lights come, people will even feel excited and jump up and down. This is the way that people in North Korean live.

        Not being able to image the live in North Korean, I am astonished by the underdevelopment in North Korean. The convenience of the internet and the universalness of the public facility are common in everywhere. We may not even feel gratitude when we read with lights. This makes me think of the lives that my grandparents and the ancients used to have. Nowadays, we take many things for granted. I think there are many people living the same lives as the author’s in many places. Moreover, I like the way the author describes her childhood. The descriptions are so vivid that I would like to read more.