A biography for Park Yeon-mihasn’t been written yet.
“My favorite movies were 'Titanic,' 'James Bond' and 'Pretty Woman' - people smuggled in pirate copies from China.”
“I had to look for food all the time. I had to catch dragonflies, grasshoppers, and that was the only source of protein for me.”
“We can agree that Kim Yo Jong is not taking over North Korea and I don't think that is in her interest.”
“If I could've had the things that Americans throw away, I never would've escaped North Korea. That's how much we were desperate.”
“The year 2015 brought me so many further chances to spread the word about human rights violations in North Korea, from addressing the United Nations to publishing my autobiography.”
“I was able to see the lights coming from China. If maybe I could go where the lights are I could find something to eat, that's why I escaped.”
“If there is no word that means you don't have the concept. In North Korea they eliminate the words: depression, stress, dictatorship, human rights. You cannot think of those. That's why all the brainwashing was possible.”
“Before Kim Jong Il died, it wasn't like one day Kim Jong Un took over. Kim Jong Il made sure his son was known to the North Korean people and it was clear that he was the next heir. He prepared him for at least three years beforehand.”
“For a long time, I lost faith in humanity, especially men.”
“When I saw my father's death it was not human, he was less better than an animal and I didn't want the end of my life to be like that.”
“North Korea publicly denounced me as an enemy of my people and punished all my relatives. They have this guilty by association policy and they go after three generations of your family or up to eight generations of your family.”
“Everything in North Korea was about the leader, all the books, music and TV.”
“I didn't know what freedom was. I didn't even know the word. I didn't know the concept. I never heard of that word, 'freedom.' To me, the happiest thing was having food.”
“We don't have friends in North Korea. We only have comrades. There's no concept of friends.”
“Kim Il Sung prepared Kim Jong Il for decades to be his successor and made it very clear from the beginning, 'This is my son and he's going to lead the country' and that took more than 10 years - almost 20 years.”
“My concern is: How on earth is anything more urgent than the lives of people in North Korean concentration camps?”
“In North Korea, when there is an alarm, it means that there is a war drill. It means that you need to run.”
“I do want to go home. That's my dream. North Korea is still my home.”
“I thought, if I go to China, I might find food to eat. The only reason to escape was to find a bowl of rice. And I was trafficked and sold in China.”
“If I keep silent, I am betraying my people.”