In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom

In Order to Live

• Genre: Nonfiction; memoir; autobiography
• Originally Published: 2015
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1010L; Grades 9-12; College/Adult
• Structure/Length: Book divided into multiple parts detailing Yeonmi Park’s life in North Korea, her escape, and her adjustment to a new life; approximately 273 pages; audiobook length approximately 9 hours and 37 minutes
• Central Concern: In Order to Live recounts the harrowing and inspiring story of Yeonmi Park’s escape from North Korea. Born in a society where the regime controls almost every aspect of life, Park experienced starvation and oppression and even witnessed public executions. At 13, she and her mother fled North Korea, embarking on a perilous journey through China and Mongolia before reaching South Korea. The memoir not only details her escape and survival against incredible odds but also delves into her emotional and psychological journey from indoctrination to freedom, shedding light on the human rights crisis in North Korea.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic descriptions of human rights abuses; sexual violence and exploitation, sex work, starvation and economic hardship, human trafficking, and severe hardship; suicide; abuse; emotional accounts of family separation and trauma

Yeonmi Park, Author

• Bio: Born 1993 in North Korea; human rights activist; defected from North Korea in 2007; since escaping, she has become a leading voice in bringing attention to the plight of North Korean refugees and the oppressive regime in her home country.