Kim Jong Un Would Really Hate For You To Watch This, Which Is Exactly Why You Should

At age 21, Yeonmi Park is a brand new activist. She’s also a North Korean, and she’s a survivor. Listening to her speak about the horrible things she's lived through is pretty heartbreaking.

(Click "Show Transcript" below to read her remarks in full.)

At 9 years old, she saw her friend's mother punished for a crime that in most countries is just a normal, everyday activity.

This is just one reason North Koreans live in fear for their lives.

Yeonmi's own mother was forced to make a horrible compromise to protect her daughter.

*Trigger warning: Discussion of rape.*

And often, escaping into China isn't even the safe haven it should be.

As Yeonmi points out, there are about 300,000 North Korean refugees in China who are vulnerable. 70% of North Korean women and teenage girls who have escaped into China are being victimized and trafficked, sometimes sold for as little as $200.

(FACT CHECK: These numbers seem to correlate roughly with this report by Human Rights Watch)

So what can people do to help put an end to this 7-decade-long human rights violation?

Here are Yeonmi's requests:

"Educate yourself so that you can raise awareness about [the] human crisis in North Korea."

"Help and support North Korean refugees who are trying to escape to freedom.

"Petition on China's repatriation [of North Korean citizens]. ... We need governments all around the world to put pressure on China to stop repatriation."

Just by watching this video, you're already doing #1.

Yeonmi Park’s speech was given at the One Young World conference in Dublin and uploaded to the conference’s YouTube channel. Here’s an article with more info about her story and her activism, and you can follow her on Twitter to show your support. To hear the full story of her escape from North Korea, watch the first 8 minutes of the full version of her introduction at One Young World. I found this video through the lovely Georgina-Kate Adams, who I met at One Young World. Thumbnail image used under a Creative Commons license.

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