YouSaid · the spoken record

Yeonmi Park

lines on the record: 117
first: 2021-07-01
most recent: 2021-07-01
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“they don't let you be knowing what that is. And then they were like, yeah, hearing people having problems, go talk to therapist. And I was like, like, how much is it? I should have $200 per hour. And it's a discounted rate too. It's like a no, thank you.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think every day I get new definition of freedom. It is. It's a never-ending journey having this relationship with being free. And what it means to be free, right? I think you definitely can live life without being free and also happy life too. I saw a lot of North Korean elites who were fed and have power but didn't have freedom or very happy in a way happier than the people that I found in Yo were like investment bankers and consultants in Manhattan and 70% of them go like talk therapists. I was very confused. I remember writing my book in New York. Like my editor was saying, you know, you're traumatized. You need to go talk to the therapist. And it's like, what is therapy? What is trauma? Because in North Korea, they don't have order for stress or trauma. Because how can you be stressed in a socialist paradise?”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's not something I'm gonna take its course and I'm gonna change. Like we not even know that economic freedom does not bring political freedom. We know in China it doesn't. That's the unique thing about freedom. You gotta fight for it. Otherwise, you don't never get it. Freedom is something that has befought. And if nobody fighting for freedom, it's not going to be there.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He has first son born 2009 and not old enough if he dies now. So either his sister might rule for a short amount of time as not like a leader, but like temporary placement. And then when the sun is older enough, he might take it off because it's a kingdom. That's most likely. And China will do everything they can to maintain the status quo for the North Korean regime. North Korean people have no option here. Just needed some leader to courageously come up and do the right thing”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, they were like just didn't care. And that's what they're always policy has been. They don't care, I mean. So if Kim Jong-un dies, Going to be very hard for North Korea to replace anybody in his position because Kims is a brand. It's not just like a leader for us, right? Whenever we think of Kim, who came with my mind, like who's almost God figure. Like North Korea is number 10 religions in the world. They copy the Bible. So if you believe that if there are people believing the God and Jesus Christ, how do you not believe that North Korean believing the same thing? So Kim Yir Song grew up dislike Christian verses. So when he finding his country, he said I loved my people so much that I'm giving you my son Kim Jong. His body dies but his spirit is with us forever who can know how many hair I have, what I think, and when we suffer when we go to paradise with him.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, that's the thing. That's why they don't want to take that risk. They don't want to do anything. The US now became very passive when they pursue these moral values to the rest of the world.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They don't care. They don't care about the suffering of 25 million people. They gotta pay the price if they saw Assassin Gimzangan. They gotta pay the price.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When it comes to North Korea, anybody knows what Kim Jong-un does, it's lie, right? Nobody knows. I'm sure CIA knows, but they never reveal that. CIA has enough intelligence to canter Kim Jaunes, what he's doing. They just don't assassinate him because they don't see the police. Me's of it right now”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So it's not like he even feels, he doesn't even recognize that's a suffering. Of course, this is what you do serving me because I am this. So I think that's beyond that. It's not like suffering enters his minds. He doesn't even think what we go through.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think in his life, right? I read a lot about North Korea, a lot of CIA documents, a lot of intelligence people worked there and even worked in North Korean type elites and escaped. I hear about them. So Kim Jong-un, when he's born, they treat like gods. So they never have a sense of them being a human. Like equal with others. For them, we are just any kind of tool like that, but Napoleon does, right? Anybody's a tool, like once Boxer dies, get him slaughtered for my cause. And they do not even feel guilty about it because they don't view us that you deserve your”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“As a child he went, when you're a child, your brain is very susceptible. You change anybody, like why the mall was so obsessed like changing young people's minds. Like, that's every revolutionary they do, right? They go change young people's minds first. This guy was so obsessed with the power, him being a god, even starting in Switzerland didn't change him. And that's why I think that's a pure evil I can't give him more benefit of that to his grandfather and father, but when it comes to Kim Jong-un, this is like what pure evil looks like, pure selfish being. That's what it looks like.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, with Kimir Song, I can give him more benefit. He was a initial true believer of communism. But then as later he gained the power, he realizing, I think, I guess back then he thought most of people are dumb, right? Individuals dumb. So therefore, I need to make a decision for all of you. That pure arrogance came from out of him. Even that I can tolerate, okay? Fine. And Kim Jong-eer, who never like, yeah, fine, he grew up in that system too. But Gim Zhong is very unique. This guy was educated in Switzerland, in the heart of democracy. He knew how human beings should be treated.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“North Koreans don't have electricity, no internet, so Can do that with China, we can do with a lot of African dictatorship countries, right? I do think big cryptocurrency is such a fascinating technology, right? I think this is an amazing experiment when that power is in our hands. I'm the huge advocate believer, but I think Norris is too behind. Know, I think that's what is unique about North Korea, most of the things that we talk about is not a different planet, literally, the common north that we have is now applicable”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's what it takes changing Chinese Communist Party is impossible. That's why we couldn't solve North Korea for that many decades.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Norse creature, dear humans Raina, in twenty first century, seven billion people on this earth right now, you make enough food for ten billion people. Nobody should starve in right now. It's worrisome to me. The humanity is moving forward with the technological advance of blah blah. We are going so fast in advancement and we are leaving this like 25 million human beings in the cage, completely leaving them behind. And North Koreans are living like 16 centuries. I never like this morning I was taking a shower beautiful shower like one never knew a shower was. I was bathing few times a year going to the river. How do I even know what shampoo is? And this is how human beings in twenty first living. And it doesn't bother us and rather most of people obsess being a vegan. How do you reconcile”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So now in the 90s, the regime told us, okay, we are not gonna give you ration, you cannot trade that's illegal, but you find your own way to survive. So be self-reliant, that's what to say. But when you're God, you can do whatever you want. You don't need to make a sense. That's the difference being a God and being a leader. When it is religion, it's not for sociable. You cannot challenge it. God's way is suspicious. God works in the mysterious way. So when you are God, people are not going to say, oh, this doesn't make sense, right? You're going to, okay, whatever God says, as a human being, we can never change his thought. It is unbelievable what regimes can do.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is man made famine. International community was begging to give North Korea food. Why not still at the UN? They beg to give North Korea formula medicine and food. They are begging can you please feed your people and Gimzon said no thank you Last year like when North had a horrible hotel flooding South Korean prison begging Can you get can I give you please some medicines Ignor? Because he wants to be the one provider. He doesn't want people to think other people giving him the thing. So on purpose other people starving and that Jutta idea is that's when you're coming from so until that communism was about like steady being a father figure takes care of all your needs right give the power to us and you are all good but North Korea regime says okay now we cannot give people rations which means self reliance You need to take care of yourself why you're giving every right to others.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“13 other districts. Everybody on the countryside, on purpose being starved, should those people were starving, cannot thinking about meaning of life, cannot thinking about shooting to the moon, right? They are not going to think about anything, or they can think it's like finding next meal.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So Jutta is very unique. It came on around the 90s after Soviet Union collapsed. So before that, North Korea was very still loyal to the Marxism and Leninism, which a state takes care of you. We are going to give you the right education, healthcare, your livelihood, everybody is going to be equal, you're going to have in the working collective farm, collective workplace. Everybody collectively do things together and let's work for the paradise. But 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. And until then, North Korea was a heavily subsidized by Soviet Union's aid. And then Soviet Union didn't give them anything. So not 3 million people dying on the streets. The regime then came up with idea, okay, our goal is, what is successful ruling for us is keeping the 10% of population alive, which is in the Kaptar Pyongyang. So they designed the hunger games. There is a capital.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And that in between three classes, they divide into 50 different classes. So a lot of people don't even know which exact class you belong to. That's a secret government document. And that's how they decide your future. So in a way, North Korea, before you're born, your life is determined for you. And this is almost a joke, right? They dreamed of creating the most equal society. They ended up became most inequal society in the face of humanity. So there are fifty different classes and where the one guy on the top became a god. When this animal farm, as we keep saying, like all the animals are equal and some.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, so that's a very interesting thing, right? Right now, there are a lot of people playing with this ideology of democratic socialism, socialism, communism, whatever you call, Marxism, Leninism, right? They have all like this similar features where we give collective power to a certain entity. And they will make the decision for the bigger good, right? And North Korea came up with the Kimir song. He was the Latinist, he was Marxist, saying, I'm going to create the most equal society on human face. So it was communist North Korea. And then they came up with this humble system. It's like family caste system. Three big categories lawyer, wavering, and hostile.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Will not start a nuclear war as long as they can do whatever they want right now, right? North Korea's army not designed to fight the enemy. They designed to prevent their own people, the Kuteta and the revolution with their own citizens. That is one point six million of North Korea with a tiny country, the fourth largest armies in the world. So this country designed to fight with their own citizens.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's why when people underestimate evil, that's what scares me. Evil is evil. It's a different thing. It's a complete different thing. And of course, I really get your idea. We don't want to isolate 1.3 billion human beings in unearth by Chinese. But the thing is, we are talking about this regime, not the people. I love Chinese people. I speak Chinese. I love all about that country. But this system does promote evil.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Eventually, made a society where people don't even know what compassion is. We don't know the concept of, we don't know that you need to feel bad for another human being when they're suffering. The fact that you know compassion is in your knowledge. That's why you do that. Humans need to learn. It's not anything bad about human nature. It's just saying humans are capable of everything. We are the most adaptable species on the planet. That's why we created internet talking this way, right? No other animals have done it because we are so adaptable. That is a good thing and that's a bad thing. So in the adaptive situation, they all can be, I mean, during the Holocaust, right, those people, they could have been capable of good too if they were exposed to different systems.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Think humans are capable of anything. There is no exception. I don't think there's any saint who born with immorality. I think in North Korea you can say initially that there's few guys in the top wanted power and then doing this.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Know what humans demand when they die in North Korea? All they want is eating, right And people say, Oh, nothing can be that bad. But people just hear I haven't seen an actual true evil.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Love your optimism. Have seen the actual dark side of China on the underground. I hope. I think that's a thing. People here in the West, right? They say, Oh, how can it be that bad? They ask me, like, I walk in passing, this young teenager man in need of war with my sister. Like intestine coming out through his bad way. Even in the moment where he wanted was, please give me food. He was hungry.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Have On the sunshine palace, which is there's two people walking down the street and the sun and the wind made a battle. So who can take off that man take off jacket? So Wind tried blow as much air as he could, and then that man was like putting more like his jacket on, right? Not taking off. But sunshine came, okay, I'm gonna give him a lot of worms, and then he took his jacket out and came out. So that was a theory. Let's give North Korea as much love as they want. Let's give them a lot of money, whatever they want. Let's give to them. Do they know that we are not here to attack them? North Korea, what they did was the guy who did the sunshine policy in South Korea named Kim Dezung won the Nobel Peace Prize for that. And Kim Jong-eer used the money to build a nuclear weapons. So that's how they came with the nukes. So I think That's”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And even any military, they know if they carry him Zong, they're gonna get killed by Chinese. Nobody can dare to stand up against Kim Zong because of China's backing it. So somehow, here in the West, we collectively acknowledging that China is the responsible person for these crimes against humanity in North Korea. Then we can somehow”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The first thing that we can do is speak about Chinese role in this sponsoring dictatorship in North Korea. Like, I haven't had so much struggle talking about North Korea, right? They say how North Korea is possible. Why is it like the way like this is? 99% accountability going to CP. Kim Jong cannot last without Chinese having one week. This is completely funded. This Holocaust is funded by CCP. But if you talk about it in the mainstream, of course they don't buy it. And I think it's in a way North Korea is a lot easier to solve than even in the Middle East. There's nothing conflict like between people. There's no ideology, no religion, nothing. People are peaceful, right? There's not even one civil any discontent among the people. All problem is there's a dictator funded by the second economic power in the world.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And this is like a human nature that I don't get. Why there's so much anti human sentiment in this modern world? We don't have to. The fact that I was saying the fact that you care about animals, rights, is beautiful because you care about something who cannot speak for themselves. The fact that we care about animals is because they cannot speak for themselves, right? They don't have that ability. And there are many people who cannot speak for themselves right now. And why do you refuse to be the voice for them? Because they are simply being a human. And maybe it connects to us not being proud of who we are. Like, maybe, I don't know what it is. Why do they deny humans this way? Maybe they don't like themselves.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Right now, like did China bring the Xinjiang Uyghurs, right? Of vitamin T, and then it kills their sperm and make it not reproduce. Their birth rate gone down something 47 to something 50% in the one year time is a genocide in 21st century. And they get those people and get their organs out. Imagine if there's some people who will do that with cutie puppies and cats. There's going to be insane amount of product. They're going to destroy everything.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, it's the easier thing, like, that's the thing. I was here to speak at the South by Southwest a few years ago. And they were everywhere talking about Elon Musk project going to the moon, right? We're going to be more spacious. I was like, Then I did not even know who he was. So, if you're guys trying to go out of this earth, you haven't even explored our Earth yet. You cannot go to North Korea right now. You haven't explored that part of our planet. Can we do that first and then move on?”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And this is like. This is harr. Like when people say, I'm going to change the world, I want to make a difference. Hard to believe it”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I think I love Elon Mosque. I read this way. I love these people want to like go the moon, Mars. And people told them like, yeah, we went to do the moon. Like, I did not know in North Korea. Think that's what upsets me. Okay, why there's not even one single human with that kind of brilliance in their brain. They can't save so much suffering, but nobody does anything. I think that's been nice. I feel like it's hard to find help in humanity. And that's when I get so upset. Think about even Biden or Trump or Obama. They know what's happening in North Korea exactly, right? Even if we see satellite photos, there's public executions. I mean, the UN says this is a Holocaust happening again. Is it happening for the Holocaust happening again? How are you okay doing nothing about it? But somehow humans are able to cate nothing anything.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“heartlessness of people, the ignorance of people. So when I got out of North Korea, going through all of that, I went to South Korea one day. I was watching television. And it's like a famous Korean K-pop stars and crying and doing some fundraising concert. And I literally thought, I was like, oh my God, something is horrible going wrong in this country. Why are these people crying? Was cheery like campaign, and then later showing that it was an animal rights campaign to help ping out cats and puppies in the shelters. Do you know anybody who has their tears like that to another human being right now? Like, no, right? People rather give millions of dollars to save some dolphins than saving these children right now being raped in China.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“She had five daughters and she sold all her children to China. And we can now sit in here judging on like how heartless you are selling your own children to China and as a sexual slave they were like her children were like seven, ten years old. But that was the only way for her to save her children. And if she didn't serve me that day, I would be dead right now. I'm grateful that she sold me. I think that's the thing life is so crazy. You cannot judge. Is just so complex That's how she changed my life by selling me. She soared. My mom and myself in 2007 to China.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And people don't die from cancer in North Korea. You die from infection and fever and hunger, right? So most likely you're going to die more by being treated by a doctor than not being treated. I think I was lucky, even though they thought I had appendix, they operate on me without any painkiller and I didn't get infection. I survived. So that's how I got delayed to escape to my sister. And she left me a note in my bedside saying like follow this lady. And this is another trick about human trafficking, right? She sold me to China as a sexual slave. And she executed for it later. And she had a”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of course, I think that made me survive. I had a very strong connection with my family. I think that's what kept me going to do all of that. I think, as you said, I escaped at 13. My sister, at the age of sixteen, escaped with her friend first. And I was going to escape with her, but one day I got a really bad stomach ache. And my parents took me to hospital. And in North Korean hospital, they don't have like X-ray machines. They don't even have electricity. They're literally using one needle to inject everybody.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“What do you even feature? I don't even know that word. Like a lot of times I was looking at myself, like I left my body and like just looking at me. Just not feeling in it, it's not like I'm scared for her, I'm like sad for her, just looking at me like, oh, that's interesting. Not feeling anything and me like being raped going through every motion of life to survive, right? Like some, I don't know when you say so or something, like looking at it, it's like. You fear nothing. You don't fear anything for that person”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Fear, loss, everything. It's a Because, I mean, I sold my own mom in China to survive. So it was more than that, and that feeling, I think that's the thing. In China, I learned not to fear. And after my escape was so challenging, I didn't feel anything. Was hard not feeling anything is a torture. It's a big torture you can never feel like, even if you're sadness, that's better than not feeling anything. And I fear something when I had my son. That's when I started healing. So he was a miracle to save me. But yeah, in China, it wasn't even fear. Like, it was numb.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think It's a thing that's amazing. Even though I was like 13, my life outside of North Korea is almost like you went by like one second. And my life till that point was like eternity. Remember being in China, I arrived there at the end of March at thirteen, and by October it was six months past. And I literally felt like I lived eternity. And when they live in China, felt like living one year. One day was surviving through one day was so hard. Every night I was like, I cannot believe I got done one day today. That was the thing I was grateful for before I went to bed. Okay, I survived. I didn't get captured. And I made you another day on earth.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's That's how I make the sense of it, and that's how I move forward. As a logical human being, when you're dead, you're done. Maybe that's what I at least used to think. But then life just become too unbearable. And somehow that's the thing, like we tear our service stories in order to live. And that's how I came with my title of the book in order to live. I had to tear myself a lot of stories, to overcome a lot of things. I think I was part of it.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I had a son when I was 22 and I had IVF three times and as you see I'm like 80 pounds but back then I was like 75 pounds because my severe malnutrition somehow my body is very different And so after three times of IVF after 23, I was still wanting family. And the reason I wanted him is because I felt so guilty for my father that he never seen this word. I somehow, like when you're so desperate, you become illogical. Like I want to believe in that I reconcile Buddhist idea, right? You come back to life. And I prayed, please come to me like as my son so I will take care of you. Like come back. And when I was pregnant with my son, even though I planned pregnant with the girl, doctor made a mistake. It became a boy. So I made his middle name, like my father's name. I think he's the only American guy, North Korean name.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it's becoming the US has been a very special place in my heart. I think this is the first place I felt like home. I was in South Korea longer and I didn't feel that way so.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Be executed so he can be buried in his own land. And then his last wish was If I die criminate me and then bring my ashes back to my country when I'm dead I still want to be my country. And this is nationalism. This is a propaganda, right? Now, like it's the same thing, like, it's the same thing. If I die, I somehow bury it in my land. And I still feel like I'm the outsider. I'm always longing for my home. It's a horrible home. People are saying, What's your dream? Like, do you want to be a present? Do you run for office? I just want to go home. That's my dream, right? And people here don't get it ever.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A lot for sure. It is here this day I'm like my father who died in China and he was tortured and then he died. He wanted to go back before his bath, right? And then if you go back, you're going to be executed. And like, I want to be executed.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And then they just had to go to hotel and google the cake. And it's like, oh, that's what you meant. And that, like, they deny what that is. I'm sure they are gays in North Korea. I'm sure there is. But you don't know what it is. And like that, they eliminate words. So the fact that you know the concept, that is a stay is much better than, and that's the thing a lot of people like when you're born, you somehow know what justice is, what liberty is. And it's or somebody taught you that. And like, that's the thing where people say, oh, humans are inherently know. What is wrong? What is oppression? And no, that's like BS. You gotta learn.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's it. That's the only thing they allow us to fear and know about. So I remember you read 1984 by Georgia where it talks about double think and double speak. Who controls the language? Who controls thoughts? And why he does talk about as they go, they eliminate a lot of words, right? Now later one word can represent 10 different things. And what fascinates me is how many vocabulary meaning people can have. And like when I literally came out, remember I went to San Francisco and someone came to me and hugged me. And then he was a guy like, oh baby, don't worry, I'm gay. I was like, what the heck is gay? I don't know, right?”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So there are so many loves in life, but in North Korea, all of those things are denied. And I think for me is love what makes you tick. Like, you know, love for your child, love for your parents, love for your friends, love for even yourself. That is denied. I mean, many people say love is an option, but then why do you leave? I think we live to love. And it doesn't have to be romantic love. It can be anything. But finding love in any person or any subject, I think that's a goal. I think that's when people find the meaning in something.”
2021-07-01 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #196 – Yeonmi Park: North Korea · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source