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Yeonmi ParkYeonmi Park
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While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in America Hardcover
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,903 ratings
That’s why the subversion of critical thinking is so dangerous. It is the mechanism by which humans lose their faculties as individuals and succumb to groupthink, which is a precondition for every totalitarian society on Earth, and which ultimately felled my father.
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There is a reason why the great books of Western civilization are all banned in dictatorships.
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Without words to describe an emotion or phenomenon, I discovered, it is easy enough to live your life not even knowing they exist. Totalitarian regimes understand this fact quite well.
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Product details
Language : English
Hardcover : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 1668003317
ISBN-13 : 978-1668003312
Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.54 x 22.86 cmBest Sellers Rank: 300,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)Customer Reviews:
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,903 ratings
Customer reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from Australia
Chris Blackney
5.0 out of 5 stars Yeonmi’s new life in America explainedReviewed in Australia on 16 October 2024
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Both Yeonmi Park’s books show the brutal and desperate conditions in North Korean life and how in American society today there are western ideologies drifting aimlessly back towards being reminiscent of the awful life she worked so hard to escape.
Great reading!
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Tully Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Everyone should read it.Reviewed in Australia on 2 September 2024
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Yeonmi recognizes the left's totalitarian tendencies, and how the democrats are so much like communist dictators like those she fled from in North Korea.
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colin
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ReadReviewed in Australia on 2 July 2024
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Was a great read, and a great insight into the North Korean regime at the time.
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Belinda
5.0 out of 5 stars great BioReviewed in Canada on 31 October 2024
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the book should be read by all. but the price is a bit high.
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Fabiana
5.0 out of 5 stars While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector's Search for Freedom in AmericaReviewed in Brazil on 16 October 2024
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ótimo livro.
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Ryan Tanner
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, purposeful insight into 'woke elitist' American culture - MUST READReviewed in the United States on 22 March 2023
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UPDATE:
Thank you all for the support! Following Yeonmi’s lead, I’ve began to get involved at the grassroots level campaigning for Kennedy 2024 and have experienced VERY ENCOURAGING results. Personal responsibility and ownership is the Way to restoring American freedom, democracy, and unity.
Park's second volume serves as a courageous, cautionary and uniquely crafted perspective into contemporary American culture. Recruiting her experiences in the tyrannical regimes of North Korea and China, as well as her experience at Columbia and as an acclimating American citizen, she carefully and clearly details the growing connections between the current sociopolitical climate in America and the fundamental idealogical narratives and practicalities of circumstance that lead to tyranny.
Park makes several powerful arguments and observations that help make an objective case for the why the American elite is motivated, by the self-interest of their position, to continue the propagation of woke ideology—and why everyday Americans are afraid to take action, partly because most of them are unable to truly appreciate the marvel of their own liberties (having never been denied them or exposed to real life circumstances without them), and partly because of a lack of leadership, guidance, and planning on this front.
I found her increasingly articulate reflections on the circumstances that make socialist tyranny possible particularly eye-opening and intrinsically persuasive. Park discusses how the lack of linguistic representation for concepts such as 'starvation', 'depression', and 'freedom' in the North Korean dialect provides the state increased abilities to police thought, and as consequence deter revolution and resistance by stripping individuals of the necessary cognitive, communicative, and linguistic means to organize such. There's much to talk about, many similar arguments to this that outline the practicalities of the current situation—attempting to elucidate, from Park's perspective, why society is where it is at today and what we can do about it. This, coupled alongside interesting anecdotes, leads to a mentally stimulating, educating, and thoughtful read that I believe ultimately made me a better person, or at least a less ignorant one.
Here's a quote that struck me hard:
"At the end of the day, this is the object of cancel culture in America: to deprive people of the right or ability to express thoughts that run counter to official narratives, so that eventually, they won't even know how. Threaten people enough with the destruction of their reputations and livelihoods if they criticize the wrong thing, and eventually they won't even know how to criticize it."
I would also like to mention that there was a moment reading this book where I can say that for the first time in my life, I genuinely felt proud to be an American—and in the best way possible, not founded on grandiosity or false bravado but a real, solid sense of appreciation, perspective, gratitude and honor. It was a strange feeling, one that I suppose I wasn't supposed to feel, but it left me with a resolve to remember the words in this book and put my faith into them as True.
To provide some context, I am an Ivy League student in the US and am well aware of the current woke idealogical narrative. I think Park's second installment is so crucial because it has given me the perspective to see the real value in what American stands for, and to therefore have the wisdom to understand how precious and fragile freedom actually is, and to be willing to speak my mind and do my part no matters the consequences. I am now embodying this knowledge in my own life and my own decisions, and am frequently reminded of Nietzsche's comment "How much truth can a spirit bear, how much truth can a spirit dare? That became more and more for me the real measure of value" as I begin to speak my mind, say what I think. I now see that the consequences of not doing so are simply too great.
Park ends optimistically describing what we, everyday Americans, can do. Park advocates for personal responsibility, and outlines how by attending to the democratic process, by voting in schoolboard meetings, building local communities, engaging meaningfully with your family, limiting social media usage, among other such things, we can all do our part, carry our weight, and produce real change. In essence, instead of looking towards DC to fix our problems, abdicating our personal power, we should look to ourselves.
My only critique of this deeply purposeful book is that some of the passages appeared to be repeated throughout the book. However, in consideration of the magnitude and importance of the piece of a whole, I would consider this to be a minor practical flaw.
I give this book five stars and would recommend it to anyone, really.
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Smudger
5.0 out of 5 stars Huge respect for this writer. Would recommend for all students.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2024
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I have read that Yeonmi Park is criticised for her narratives some suggesting that she is exaggerating. Even if a quarter were only true I would still admire her fortitude, intelligence, perspective and generosity in telling her story, putting her head above the parapet to help her fellow North Koreans. She loves America and is vocal in her praise of its freedoms and what the country has given to her so don't be put off when I say that In this book she takes no prisoners. She exposes the hypocrisy of the elites whom she has met and who have subsequently disappointed her because of their dependence on China. She writes of her experience at Columbia University, doing a cultural module where she is told to see things in a particular way triggering memories from the Kim past and the subsequent prevailing 'group think' that pervades , spilling into ordinary peoples behaviour on the street. An experience which inspired her to write this book. I had read her autobiography so know the point from where she comes. The enormity of her life experience both in North Korea and in China. Her insights hit hard. It is much more concisely written than her first book and I would recommend this as a book that all young people should read. Ms Park was only 29 when she wrote this book and I wish her and her son all the best for the future. She survived and could lead a life of quiet safety but she has chosen to shout. Respect.
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israel de lamo
5.0 out of 5 stars Otro antídoto contra las dictadurasReviewed in Spain on 5 August 2024
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El libro se lee rápido y es sencillo de entender. La autora, sin embargo, no termina de hacer el análisis correcto. Se da cuenta de como salió de una dictadura comunista y cae en una woke pero no se da cuenta de que huyendo de la woke ¡Cae en una cosmovisión anglo!
Se nota el fundamentalismo democratico y los huecos en la historia mundial.
Aún así, a estas víctimas se les perdona todo porque su vida ha sido un infierno, una mujer valiente que ha logrado sobrevivir y ver los Intereses que mueven el mundo.
Se puede leer después del libro sobre el exterminio yazidi, dos versiones de la misma realidad.
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From Australia
Chris Blackney
5.0 out of 5 stars Yeonmi’s new life in America explained
Reviewed in Australia on 16 October 2024
Verified Purchase
Both Yeonmi Park’s books show the brutal and desperate conditions in North Korean life and how in American society today there are western ideologies drifting aimlessly back towards being reminiscent of the awful life she worked so hard to escape.
Great reading!
Helpful
Report
Tully Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Everyone should read it.
Reviewed in Australia on 2 September 2024
Verified Purchase
Yeonmi recognizes the left's totalitarian tendencies, and how the democrats are so much like communist dictators like those she fled from in North Korea.
Helpful
Report
colin
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read
Reviewed in Australia on 2 July 2024
Verified Purchase
Was a great read, and a great insight into the North Korean regime at the time.
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Irisa
3.0 out of 5 stars Skadat omslag
Reviewed in Sweden on 28 March 2024
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Jag är ledsen att utsikten ser så här ut… jag väntade ganska längre för att få boken och omslag är lite förstört.
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israel de lamo
5.0 out of 5 stars Another antidote to dictatorships
Reviewed in Spain on 5 August 2024
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The book reads quickly and is simple to understand. The author, however, does not finish doing the correct analysis. He realizes how he came out of a communist dictatorship and falls into a woke but he doesn't realize that fleeing from the woke he falls into an Anglo-worldview!
Democratic fundamentalism and gaps in world history are evident.
Even so, these victims are forgiven everything because their life has been hell, a courageous woman who has managed to survive and see the Interests that move the world.
After the book on the Yazidi extermination, you can read two versions of the same reality.
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Smudger
5.0 out of 5 stars Huge respect for this writer. Would recommend for all students.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2024
Verified Purchase
I have read that Yeonmi Park is criticised for her narratives some suggesting that she is exaggerating. Even if a quarter were only true I would still admire her fortitude, intelligence, perspective and generosity in telling her story, putting her head above the parapet to help her fellow North Koreans. She loves America and is vocal in her praise of its freedoms and what the country has given to her so don't be put off when I say that In this book she takes no prisoners. She exposes the hypocrisy of the elites whom she has met and who have subsequently disappointed her because of their dependence on China. She writes of her experience at Columbia University, doing a cultural module where she is told to see things in a particular way triggering memories from the Kim past and the subsequent prevailing 'group think' that pervades , spilling into ordinary peoples behaviour on the street. An experience which inspired her to write this book. I had read her autobiography so know the point from where she comes. The enormity of her life experience both in North Korea and in China. Her insights hit hard. It is much more concisely written than her first book and I would recommend this as a book that all young people should read. Ms Park was only 29 when she wrote this book and I wish her and her son all the best for the future. She survived and could lead a life of quiet safety but she has chosen to shout. Respect.
One person found this helpful
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I. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars A beacon of hope for North Korea
Reviewed in Germany on 21 September 2023
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I have the highest admiration for this courageous young lady. She is a true beacon of hope for the liberation of the North Korean People.
I sincerely hope she succeeds further.
One person found this helpful
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Belinda
5.0 out of 5 stars great Bio
Reviewed in Canada on 31 October 2024
Verified Purchase
the book should be read by all. but the price is a bit high.
Report
Ryan Tanner
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, purposeful insight into 'woke elitist' American culture - MUST READ
Reviewed in the United States on 22 March 2023
Verified Purchase
UPDATE:
Thank you all for the support! Following Yeonmi’s lead, I’ve began to get involved at the grassroots level campaigning for Kennedy 2024 and have experienced VERY ENCOURAGING results. Personal responsibility and ownership is the Way to restoring American freedom, democracy, and unity.
Park's second volume serves as a courageous, cautionary and uniquely crafted perspective into contemporary American culture. Recruiting her experiences in the tyrannical regimes of North Korea and China, as well as her experience at Columbia and as an acclimating American citizen, she carefully and clearly details the growing connections between the current sociopolitical climate in America and the fundamental idealogical narratives and practicalities of circumstance that lead to tyranny.
Park makes several powerful arguments and observations that help make an objective case for the why the American elite is motivated, by the self-interest of their position, to continue the propagation of woke ideology—and why everyday Americans are afraid to take action, partly because most of them are unable to truly appreciate the marvel of their own liberties (having never been denied them or exposed to real life circumstances without them), and partly because of a lack of leadership, guidance, and planning on this front.
I found her increasingly articulate reflections on the circumstances that make socialist tyranny possible particularly eye-opening and intrinsically persuasive. Park discusses how the lack of linguistic representation for concepts such as 'starvation', 'depression', and 'freedom' in the North Korean dialect provides the state increased abilities to police thought, and as consequence deter revolution and resistance by stripping individuals of the necessary cognitive, communicative, and linguistic means to organize such. There's much to talk about, many similar arguments to this that outline the practicalities of the current situation—attempting to elucidate, from Park's perspective, why society is where it is at today and what we can do about it. This, coupled alongside interesting anecdotes, leads to a mentally stimulating, educating, and thoughtful read that I believe ultimately made me a better person, or at least a less ignorant one.
Here's a quote that struck me hard:
"At the end of the day, this is the object of cancel culture in America: to deprive people of the right or ability to express thoughts that run counter to official narratives, so that eventually, they won't even know how. Threaten people enough with the destruction of their reputations and livelihoods if they criticize the wrong thing, and eventually they won't even know how to criticize it."
I would also like to mention that there was a moment reading this book where I can say that for the first time in my life, I genuinely felt proud to be an American—and in the best way possible, not founded on grandiosity or false bravado but a real, solid sense of appreciation, perspective, gratitude and honor. It was a strange feeling, one that I suppose I wasn't supposed to feel, but it left me with a resolve to remember the words in this book and put my faith into them as True.
To provide some context, I am an Ivy League student in the US and am well aware of the current woke idealogical narrative. I think Park's second installment is so crucial because it has given me the perspective to see the real value in what American stands for, and to therefore have the wisdom to understand how precious and fragile freedom actually is, and to be willing to speak my mind and do my part no matters the consequences. I am now embodying this knowledge in my own life and my own decisions, and am frequently reminded of Nietzsche's comment "How much truth can a spirit bear, how much truth can a spirit dare? That became more and more for me the real measure of value" as I begin to speak my mind, say what I think. I now see that the consequences of not doing so are simply too great.
Park ends optimistically describing what we, everyday Americans, can do. Park advocates for personal responsibility, and outlines how by attending to the democratic process, by voting in schoolboard meetings, building local communities, engaging meaningfully with your family, limiting social media usage, among other such things, we can all do our part, carry our weight, and produce real change. In essence, instead of looking towards DC to fix our problems, abdicating our personal power, we should look to ourselves.
My only critique of this deeply purposeful book is that some of the passages appeared to be repeated throughout the book. However, in consideration of the magnitude and importance of the piece of a whole, I would consider this to be a minor practical flaw.
I give this book five stars and would recommend it to anyone, really.
163 people found this helpful
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Paul YH
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have!
Reviewed in France on 18 April 2023
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Simply incredibly inspiring. This book really makes us put things into perspective.
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