In Order To Live cover art

In Order To Live

A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

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In Order To Live

By: Yeonmi Park
Narrated by: Eji Kim
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About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of In Order to Live written by Yeonmi Park and read by Eji Kim.

Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation, or disease, or even execution. This book is the story of Park's struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on earth; her harrowing escape to South Korea through China's underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and her emergence as a leading human rights activist - all before her 21st birthday.

 Activists Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Women Human Rights Thought-Provoking Heartfelt Inspiring China

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Critic reviews

One of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard - and one of the most inspiring . . . A book to make you newly thankful for the freedom you have never been forced to fight for.
An eloquent, wrenchingly honest work that vividly represents the plight of many North Koreans
All stars
Most relevant
That accent and monotone of the narrator can be quite distracting
because I found myself at times having to focus on what the narrator was saying that I became obsessed with her pronunciation rather than focusing on the poignant account of the author’s ordeal. However, I persevered and learned a lot from listening to this book about the oppressive regime of North Korea , the Chinese approach towards illegal immigrants and South Korean attitude towards North Korean refugees.

If you persevere with the narrator ...

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Where does In Order to Live rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

memorable

What did you like best about this story?

the insight into north Korea, the regime, everyday life and the treatment of immigrants in China

Would you listen to another book narrated by Eji Kim?

her narrative was a bit jarring but was acceptable due to the fact it was a Korean story

informative story well told

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amazing story, but the narrator has a strong accent which does make difficult to understand at times.

Great story, but shame about the voiceover

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Our salvation lies within the stories we tell in order to live.
Free North Korea!

Highly inspirational and moving.

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This was one of the most moving stories I've heard in a lot time.. Forget about you 1st world problems that Twitter users love to complain about.. This is a real life struggle for survival. The narrator was great and really did feel like it was Yeonmi telling the story herself. I would get home with it playing in the car and just sit there listening in the drive.

Such a Moving story

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