Discover Top Posts Tagged with #yeonmi

@ksyeonmi

“Honestly, I’m so done with boys I’m not sure about you Yeonmi but my one true love is food & sleep, we’re all very happy in a three way relationship.”

#yeonmi #ksyeonmi #i assume in her tent just chillin tbh #makin me laugh loool nari #shut up u have so many friends who r guys this is liES

Niko is reading "Escape from North Korea: 'How I escaped horrors of life under Kim Jong-il' - Telegraph"

Growing up in North Korea, Yeonmi had seen executions before. She remembers her mother piggybacking her to public squares and sports stadiums to watch the spectacles used by Kim Jong-il’s Workers’ Party to silence even the slightest whisper of dissent. But...

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#yeonmi #korea #north #korean #china #father

And then I ran out of words

I've taken a little longer to write this one. I just didn't feel I had the words to describe what happened yesterday. I still don't, but here is my attempt. This might be brief. Yesterday we heard from Yeonmi Park, a 21 year old North Korean defector and escapee. Hers was the most profoundly moving and tragic story I have ever heard. I think it will remain with me for the rest of my life. There were 1400 people listening to Yeonmi's story yesterday and every one of them was in tears. James Chau introduced Yeonmi to the delegates before she spoke and struggled to finish his introduction, having to pause several times to compose himself. She received a standing ovation before she began, and what felt like hours of applause afterwards. I think it was the most moving thing I have ever witnessed. Yeonmi watched her best friend's mother be publicly executed when she was nine years old, for possession of a South Korean film. Later, Yeonmi's father was arrested, which meant that under North Korean law the next three generations of their family would be marked as criminals and persecuted. Eventually, he bribed his way out of prison so that he could seek medical treatment for colon cancer. Out of fear, Yeonmi's older sister attempted to escape the country with a friend. They never saw her again. Yeonmi and her family decided to attempt to escape to China, but to do this her parents had to split up. When Yeonmi and her mother eventually made it in to China the Chinese official they had bribed to be allowed in to the country told Yeonmi gave her a choice between being raped, or being sent back to North Korea. She was 13. Instead, Yeonmi's mother offered herself instead, and Yeonmi had to watched as her mother was raped in front of her. They eventually found her father, but shortly afterwards he passed away from the cancer. Yeonmi and her mother were forced to bury her father in secret during the night, unable to grieve him for if they were detected they would be sent back home. Yeonmi and her mother escaped to Mongolia, but to get there they had to cross the Gobi desert on foot. Their they were found and arrested, but Yeonmi threatened suicide if they were to be sent back to North Korea. They were sent to South Korea instead, where they live today. Two months ago, Yeonmi decided that she would begin speaking out against the North Korean regime. This is an extreme risk, and the South Korean police advised her not to speak at One Young World for fear that it would once again threaten her and her mother. But she has decided that her story needs to be told, and that the risk is worth it if telling her story will help to shed some light on the North Korean regime. I wasn't sure whether to publish this, because I don't know if I will ever be able to convey how profoundly powerful yesterday was. My own words could never do justice to Yeonmi's courage. But I have decided to share this in the hope that Yeonmi's message is heard by as many people as possible. Please, watch your speech herself, her own words are greater than mine could ever be (http://youtu.be/ufhKWfPSQOw). Please share her story, and her message, it's the least we can do in response to the immense bravery she has shown. Yeonmi is by far the bravest person I've ever met. I'm sometimes asked who my biggest hero is, or who inspires me, or who I admire, and I've often struggled to find a good answer. I have an answer now.

#Yeonmi #Yeonmi park #North Korea #bravery #courage

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has not been seen in public for more than one month. But to focus on him rather than the fate of the people is misplaced, says Yeonmi Park who fled the country with the mother. She told Newsday's Lawrence Pollard that reading George Orwell's Animal Farm after her escape opened her eyes to the "brain-washing" they underwent.

#SoundCloud #BBC World Service Radio #Yeonmi #Park #North #Korea