Log #6

In Order to Live

Yeonmi Park

        We know much about South Korean, while we know less about North Korean. North Korean is a self-isolation country. The government closes down the information for its people, and forces them to give up the good opportunity to have knowledge of the outside world. Yeonmi Park and her family are those who suffer from that regime. They lived in Hyesan which is a small country in North Korean. Compared with other families, they lived a richer life. It’s because her father made smuggling business between Pyongyang and China. Although it was illegal, it was the only way for them to make a living. Unfortunately, his father was arrested and sentenced to the jail. Poor little Yeonmi and her older sister, Eunmi, were almost starved to death.

        Before reading this book, the word that I can think up to describe North Korean is isolation. However, I don’t know what the exact lives are in this country. To my surprise, the author gives lot of specific example in the book. For instance, cows are regarded as public property. Once there was a starved man eating the beef. He was arrested and fired to death. It’s a pity that a person life wasn’t worth than a cow’s. As for their great leader, they also believed that Kim Jong Il could control the weather with his thoughts. If it happens in other countries, it would be too ridiculous to believe.

        For the one to seven chapter, the author brings us into the insight of North Korean people’s lives. It totally widens my horizon. Also I like the way of the author telling her own story by using her own language. You will see the words, songbun, inminban, or kimchi, which are the Korean language. I can learn some when I read this book.