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  • In Order to Live

  • A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
  • By: Yeonmi Park
  • Narrated by: Eji Kim
  • Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (924 ratings)
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In Order to Live cover art

In Order to Live

By: Yeonmi Park
Narrated by: Eji Kim
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Summary

Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die - from starvation or disease or even execution.

This book is the story of Park's struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on Earth; her harrowing escape to South Korea through China's underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and her emergence as a leading human rights activist - all before her 21st birthday.

©2015 Penguin Audio (P)2015 Penguin Audio

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What listeners say about In Order to Live

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Performance ruins the story

I’ve just started listening to this, very excited in this festive period to sit down and take in the journey. Who made the decision to cast Eji Kim, her English isn’t good enough for audiobooks; it creates a disconnect between the listener and the story.

I genuinely feel robbed. I sit here feeling like I have lost out because of Eji Kim.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing story let down in parts by flat delivery

The story is excellent, and a real eye opener into the workings of North Korea. It's harrowing, gripping and very difficult to stop listening to. However, the narration of the story is in a very monotonous manner, with very little emotion in the speakers voice. While this does, in places, reflect the story well, it is very difficult to concentrate on a story being told this way for long periods of time. I found myself drifting on several occasions and it was difficult to keep focuses. A more emotive delivery from a similar speaker would improve the overall result vastly.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

So interesting and amazing that we are starting to listen to the stories of these refugees. Would highly recommend

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If you persevere with the narrator ...

That accent and monotone of the narrator can be quite distracting
because I found myself at times having to focus on what the narrator was saying that I became obsessed with her pronunciation rather than focusing on the poignant account of the author’s ordeal. However, I persevered and learned a lot from listening to this book about the oppressive regime of North Korea , the Chinese approach towards illegal immigrants and South Korean attitude towards North Korean refugees.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

why on earth would you chose this reader?!

Amazing story that I've been eager to listen to since seeing Yeon-mi of JRE but was horrified by the heavily accented reader who is not Yeon-Mi, horrible tone, cadence and pace and heavy accent. I feel like it was racist to do this. Im going to try more but I don't see myself finishing this one because of the reading. I am willing to record the English version of this for absolutely nothing, I'll sign away all rights to any compensation for the work please just don't let this story be ruined like this.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • d
  • 29-11-15

informative story well told

Where does In Order to Live rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

memorable

What did you like best about this story?

the insight into north Korea, the regime, everyday life and the treatment of immigrants in China

Would you listen to another book narrated by Eji Kim?

her narrative was a bit jarring but was acceptable due to the fact it was a Korean story

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, but shame about the voiceover

amazing story, but the narrator has a strong accent which does make difficult to understand at times.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Powerful story

Would you listen to In Order to Live again? Why?

Initially the narrator's voice took some getting used to, but as the story was revealed the slightly halting delivery seemed appropriate. This is an astounding story and shows just what the human spirit is capable of. It makes for compulsive listening, it genuinely was a story I could not stop listening to - I have now bought the book for my daughter to read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Yeonmi - for her spirit, her determination and single-mindedness.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely

Any additional comments?

This is an extremely important book, which opens a tiny window into the closed horrific regime of North Korea.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Accent difficult

Really struggled to listen to this due to the very slow narration. I did not finish the book

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

something needs to be done...incredible book

the people in North Korea need to be helped. truly breathtaking book.hard to believe this stuff still happens in the 21st century

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2 people found this helpful