Today One Young World Ambassador Yeonmi Park launches her book, In Order To Live, which details the story of her escape from North Korea.
Yeonmi is a 21-year-old North Korean defector who rose to prominence after speaking at the One Young World Summit 2014 in Dublin, Ireland. The YouTube video of her speech at the Summit now has been viewed more than 2 million times.
In her speech, Yeonmi describes North Korea as “an unimaginable country” because “we aren’t free to see, say, wear or think what we want.”
“North Korea is indescribable. No humans deserve to be oppressed just because of their birthplace,” she says.
Yeonmi’s harrowing and moving story has drawn international attention, with the Guardian describing her as “the human face of North Korea’s oppressed.”
Since her speech, Yeonmi has been raising awareness for the many North Korean refugees in China who are seeking freedom through her public appearances and work with human rights organisations.
She describes North Koreans as “desperately seeking and dying for freedom at this moment,” calling for a global movement to free North Koreans.
“We need to focus less on the regime and more on the people who are being forgotten.”
