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

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Human Rights”

In this activity, students will analyze different aspects of human rights violations based on text details.

Park describes in detail the financial, emotional, and physical abuse she experiences in her journey to freedom. Select one basic human right you believe every person should have and identify the ways in the novel in which that human right was not met in North Korea and China. Then compare that human rights violation to other experiences of North Korean refugees.  Consider these questions as you formulate a response.

• What is one basic human right denied individuals in the novel?
• What are the specific instances in which these rights are denied?
• What characters participated in denying others their human rights—either willingly or unwillingly?
• How does Park’s experience compare to the accounts of other refugees in North Korea?

Share the human right selected and describe the instances in the novel where that human right was violated.  Explain how Park’s story compares to that of others from North Korea.

Teaching Suggestion: Consider reviewing the human rights outlined by the United Nations in the Before Reading section before students choose the human rights they wish to focus on. Consider allowing students to work in small groups to analyze specific human rights violations and conduct research.  

Differentiation Suggestion: English learners, students with dyslexia, and those with attentional or executive function differences may find it difficult to identify human rights violations throughout the entire text. Consider providing students with a number of passages from the book to allow students to select the passage that best applies to their human rights issue.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Park eventually assists in humanitarian efforts after spending some time in South Korea.

• How are Park’s humanitarian efforts evidence of her emotional growth? (topic sentence)
• Describe Park’s background in Korea and China and compare her experiences and motivations to her emotional growth after living in South Korea.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what you believe can be attributed to Park’s emotional growth.

2. Park wrote her memoir in part to reconcile with her past.  

• How does Park’s experience in China shape her life in South Korea? (topic sentence)
• Describe the experiences Park had in China and how they informed her experiences in South Korea and her activism.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, speculate as to how Park’s life may have been different had she immediately immigrated to South Korea after leaving North Korea.

3. Park initially feels compelled to hide her experiences in China when she becomes a public figure.

• What factors contribute to Park’s compulsion to hide her experiences in China? (topic sentence)
• Describe three instances in China that contribute to Park’s hesitancy to share her story.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what finally convinces Park to share her experiences in China.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Park’s memoir details ways in which the North Korean government restricts and oppresses its citizens. Consider the novel’s theme The Meaning of Freedom. In an essay of at least three main points, identify the acts of oppression in North Korea that help Park to identify what it means to be free. Support your response with quotes from the text.  

2. Park, though freed in 2009 by escaping to South Korea, is not immediately freed form the oppression of the North Korean government. Discuss in two or three paragraphs the oppression Park continues to experience while living in South Korea. Use evidence from the memoir to support your response.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Park claim is one benefit of poverty for the citizens of her hometown in Hyesan?

A) The individuals who live in Hyesan are not loyal to North Korea.

B) The residents of Hyesan have a stronger human connection.

C) The people in Hyesan do not believe the charges brought against Jin Sik.

D) The neighbors in Hyesan look out for their own interests.

2. Which of the following is a danger faced by Park after she and her mother flee North Korea?

A) Starvation

B) Social isolation

C) Human trafficking

D) Lack of healthcare

3. What is referred to when Park recounts her mother’s quote that “birds and mice can hear you whisper”?

A) The dangers of interaction between North Korean residents.

B) The consequences of failing to remain anonymous in China.

C) The importance of following rules in the North Korean regime.

D) The dangers of surveillance by the North Korean state.

4. Which of the following is likely to cause North Korean citizens to acquire poor songbun status?

A) Having or being exposed to limited resources during the Japanese occupation

B) Owning land or property during the Japanese occupation

C) Being a revolutionary or peasant before the formation of the North Korean regime

D) Being perceived as loyal to the North Korean regime

5. How does North Korea’s caste system or songbun impact family members?

A) Extended family members are rarely impacted by wrongdoing of relations.

B) All family members are exiled from North Korea because of wrongdoing from relations.

C) Only close family members can become ostracized in North Korean society for wrongdoing.

D) Accusations of wrongdoing affect the wealth of entire families.

6. How does Orwell’s concept of “doublethink” apply to those who live in North Korea?

A) Those who live in North Korea do not believe the information circulated by the government but continue to support it.

B) North Korean citizens are aware of the outside world but do not apply the knowledge to North Korean politics.

C) Most citizens actively challenge the authority of the North Korean regime but do not have enough information to succeed.

D) Citizens are unaware of information from the outside world that would enable them to object to their treatment in North Korea.

7. What environmental factors contribute to Keum Sook’s devotion to North Korean leadership?

A) She has no exposure to ideas because of her upbringing inland.

B) Her poor songbun status motivates her to support North Korea at all costs.

C) Keum Sook has not been given access to advanced education.

D) Keum Sook feels she must protect her family and, as a result, support the regime.

8. How is the songbun caste system used to control those who live in North Korea?

A) There are few consequences for those who have poor songbun status.

B) The system rewards individuals based on their abilities and motivates them to work hard.

C) Citizens support the system because they are rewarded with education.

D) Citizens are deterred from participating in illegal acts out of fear of social and economic repercussions.

9. How does the attitude toward women in North Korea directly impact Park’s family?

A) Men are favored over women in North Korea, contributing to Jin Sik’s willingness to have an affair.

B) Women’s roles are not directly tied to the family’s hardship in North Korea.

C) The discrimination in North Korea prevents Keum Sook from seeking a divorce.

D) Jin Sik is willing to take big risks because he feels financially responsible for the women in his family.

10. What aspect of North Korean education mentioned in the memoir serves as a form of control?

A) The provision of a diverse and comprehensive education

B) The lack of education in critical thinking

C) The separation of castes within the schools

D) The lack of opportunity for international exchange programs

11. What does Park believe to be the two factors that are needed for individuals to have great compassion?

A) Wealth and information

B) Honesty and security

C) Respect and dignity

D) Justice and equality

12. Which of the following best describes the change in character Park experiences after her father’s imprisonment?

A) She develops a deeper relationship with her mother and sister.

B) She begins to mature quickly because of her growing responsibilities.

C) She experiences a growing compassion for her father’s business mistakes.

D) She grows to distrust the North Korean regime’s intentions toward her family.

13. Why does Park struggle with her identity while living in South Korea?

A) She experiences discrimination because she is North Korean.

B) Park’s loyalty to her family prevents her from embracing South Korean culture.

C) Park’s physical appearance causes others to identify her as North Korean.

D) Her ideas and passions do not align with South Korean culture.

14. Why is Park’s location along the border regions of Hyesan significant overall to the memoir?

A) Park’s location enables her family to profit from illegal trade, improving her songbun status.

B) Her proximity to the Chinese border enables her to develop connections to South Korea that she could not obtain elsewhere.

C) Park does not associate her identity with North Korea because of her proximity to China.

D) Her geographic proximity to neighboring countries provides her with information about the outside world that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

15. How does the dynamic between Park and her mother change after fleeing North Korea?

A) Park’s mother resents Park’s willingness to assimilate into South Korean culture.

B) Keum Sook’s abuse in China causes a strain on her relationship with Park.

C) Park takes on a leadership role in the relationship with her mother.

D) Keum Sook begins to assimilate into Chinese culture, creating conflict with Park.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What role does Eunmi Park’s disappearance play in the physical journey of Yeonmi and her mother?

2. What first inspires Park’s volunteer work, and how does her motivation and focus change?