Auckland Deep Thinkers

If the weather is good, we'll be by the Bandstand. If not so good, we'll be in the Wintergarden cafe.

This month's book is "In Order to Live" by Yeonmi Park, who fled North Korea with her mother in 2007 at the age of 13 to escape starvation, oppression, and the threat of execution. Born in Hyesan in 1993, Yeonmi grew up under a totalitarian regime where food was scarce, electricity unreliable, and every conversation monitored. Her father supplemented the family’s income through black-market trading, but after his imprisonment for smuggling, the family faced extreme economic hardship.

Points for discussion include:

• Propaganda and indoctrination — The memoir shows how state‑controlled narratives shape a child’s worldview and suppress independent thought. Yeonmi is taught to worship the Kim family unquestioningly, illustrating how truth becomes a tool of power.
• Surveillance and fear — The idea that “even the birds and mice can hear you whisper” captures the omnipresent threat of punishment for dissent, shaping behaviour and relationships.
• Family as the only safe structure — In a collapsing society, Yeonmi’s family becomes her emotional anchor. Their bonds provide resilience amid famine, imprisonment, and separation.
• Famine and economic collapse — The memoir details how families adapt to scarcity, black‑market trading, and constant risk. Survival becomes a daily negotiation with danger.
• Human trafficking and exploitation — Park confronts the painful realities of her time in China, including being both a victim and a reluctant participant in trafficking networks
• Transformation through trauma — The journey from North Korea to China to South Korea forces her to rebuild her identity, shifting from survivor to someone who can claim her own narrative.
• Hope versus despair — Hope becomes a recurring counterweight to oppression, motivating her through the darkest moments.

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