Freedom They’ve Never Known
How Yeonmi Park’s story reminds us what we’ve forgotten about gratitude, faith, and freedom.
It was an ordinary day when I stumbled across Yeonmi Park’s story. I wasn’t looking for anything heavy—just scrolling, hoping to find something interesting. Then I saw her: a young woman, calm but broken, telling the world what it means to grow up in the darkest place on earth.
Her voice trembled.
The words themselves carried enough weight to silence me. She spoke of hunger so deep she forgot what full felt like. Of seeing her friend’s mother executed for watching a foreign movie. Of crossing a frozen river into China, not knowing if freedom was on the other side or just another kind of slavery.
And suddenly, I looked around my own house—the heat, the fridge full of food, the quiet safety—and I felt… ashamed. Not the self-loathing sort of way, but the kind of shame that comes from realizing how much you’ve taken for granted.
Ever since listening to her story, I cant help but feel her words.
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The Land of Shadows
North Korea is often described as “the Hermit Kingdom,” a nation sealed off from truth and light. Its people live under one of the most brutal dictatorships in modern history—one that controls every word, thought, and breath of its citizens.
The regime dictates what you eat, what you say, what you believe. There’s no internet. No free press. No religion—except worship of the Kim family, who are treated as living gods.
Children are raised to believe that the Supreme Leader can read their minds. They are taught songs of praise to him before they can read. To question his power is not only rebellion. Its suicide.
According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have died in labor camps since the 1950s. Those who dare to speak the name of Jesus risk not only their lives, but the lives of three generations of their family.
There are still Christians in North Korea—hidden, trembling, and faithful. They meet in secret, underground, whispering hymns because sound carries. They memorize torn pages of Scripture because owning a full Bible is a death sentence.
“Remember those in prison as if you were together with them, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” — Hebrews 13:3
That verse used to feel theoretical to me. Now its literal.
Voices That Escaped
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Yeonmi Park was thirteen when she escaped North Korea with her mother. They crossed the Yalu River into China in the dead of night, chased by cold and fear.
Freedom wasn’t waiting on the other side—it was another kind of slavery. In China, they were sold to human traffickers. Yeonmi’s mother was raped in front of her. Yeonmi herself was sold to a man for less than the price of a used smartphone.
She told her story years later with quiet strength. “I thought that was my fate,” she said.
Eventually, she made it to South Korea through Mongolia—a journey that nearly cost her life. When she arrived, she saw a grocery store for the first time and said it felt like heaven. She couldn’t understand why people had so many choices—why anyone could walk in and pick what they wanted to eat.
On The Shawn Ryan Show, Yeonmi said, “In North Korea, we didn’t even have words for compassion or love in the way you mean it. In America, people complain about oppression while eating three meals a day.”
That line stuck with me.
She also spoke about her heartbreak for her people—the ones still trapped behind that invisible curtain of terror. “They don’t know they’re slaves,” she said softly. “You don’t know what freedom is until you lose it.”
Other escapees echo her story:
Joseph Kim told the BBC he watched his mother starve to death and his sister disappear before he escaped as a teenager.
Hyeonseo Lee lived in hiding for ten years in China before reaching South Korea, only to spend years rescuing her family from the North.
They all tell the same truth: the human spirit can survive almost anything—but it shouldn’t have to.
The Wall Between Two Worlds
Not only is it a border, but It’s a wound that hasn’t healed in seventy years.
On the South Korean side, visitors can stand on observation decks and peer through binoculars into the North—a land frozen in time. You can see the fake “propaganda village” the regime built to appear prosperous, its empty buildings standing as hollow lies.
But what moved me most were the stories of South Korean Christians who gather near that wall to pray.
They come quietly, sometimes at dawn. Pastors, missionaries, and ordinary believers—men and women who believe that one day, that wall will fall. They face north, hands lifted, praying for revival, for freedom, for souls they will never meet.
Some even release balloons carrying Bible pages or USB drives filled with sermons and Christian films, hoping the wind carries them across the border.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” — Isaiah 9:2
That verse feels written for them.
America, the Comfortable
Pictured above: Normal American family having dinner top left. North Korean children living in poverty top right.
Sometimes I wonder what Yeonmi would think if she saw us complain about slow Wi-Fi or lukewarm coffee. We get frustrated when Amazon takes an extra day to deliver. We call that “suffering.”
Meanwhile, a mother in North Korea is boiling tree bark to keep her child alive one more day.
We’ve mistaken abundance for entitlement.
In The Shawn Ryan Show interview, Yeonmi said she couldn’t believe how Americans can be “so free yet so unhappy.” That line pierced me. We have everything she risked her life for—and still, we complain.
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.” — Philippians 4:12
Comfort, I think, is more dangerous to faith than persecution. Because comfort numbs conviction. It makes us forget what others are dying for.
Through the Lens of Faith
The Bible is full of stories of captivity and deliverance. Israel in Egypt. Daniel in Babylon. Paul in prison. Each story reminds us: God’s light doesn’t vanish in darkness—it shines brighter there.
The North Korean underground church is proof of that verse. It exists—quietly, courageously. Men and women gather in secret to whisper hymns and share what scraps of the Word they have.
They know the risk. They do it anyway.
We have churches with coffee bars and plush seats—and yet half the time, we’re “too tired” to go.
Maybe God allows us to hear stories like Yeonmi’s so we don’t grow numb to grace.
Freedom—both physical and spiritual—is a gift. One we’re meant to steward and not waste.
What We Can Do
The temptation after reading about such horror is to feel helpless. What can one person do against an entire regime?
But prayer is not nothing. In fact, it’s everything.
When we pray, we wage war in ways unseen. We lift the broken to the One who heals. We intercede for those who can’t speak, trusting the Spirit to carry their cries where ours can’t reach.
Support the ones on the front lines:
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) – helping refugees escape through secret rescue routes.
Voice of the Martyrs – providing Bibles and aid to the underground church.
Open Doors USA – documenting persecution and supporting believers worldwide.
We can live differently—gratefully. We can turn off the noise, look around, and whisper, “Thank You, Lord, for what I take for granted.”
While We Sleep in Freedom
I keep thinking about something Yeonmi said: “We don’t know we’re slaves until we’re free.”
That line haunts me. Because even here, in the land of the free, we can become slaves—to comfort, to distraction, to apathy.
Maybe freedom isn’t just the absence of chains. Maybe it’s the presence of gratitude.
I used to scroll past stories like hers, thinking, “That’s tragic,” then move on with my day. Not anymore. Her story changed the way I see everything—my home, my faith, even my meals.
So tonight, when I sit down to eat, I’ll whisper a quiet thank you. Not just for the food, but for the freedom. For the grace I didn’t earn. For the mercy I take for granted.
And I’ll remember the people in that land without light—the mothers whispering prayers in secret, the children dreaming of rice, the men who dare to believe in a God their government denies.
Because while we sleep in freedom, they suffer in silence.
And maybe the least we can do… is not stay silent too.
As the holidays draw near—the season of tables, laughter, and gratitude—let’s remember those who have none of it. Let’s be thankful not just in word, but in heart. Every warm meal, every open church door, every moment spent freely is a blessing others only dream of.
So when we bow our heads this Thanksgiving, may our prayer be simple:
“Lord, thank You for the freedom to thank You.”
Sources & References
Yeonmi Park on The Shawn Ryan Show (2023), YouTube.
Amnesty International: “North Korea 2024 Human Rights Report.”
Human Rights Watch: “North Korea’s Absolute Control.”
BBC News: “North Korean Defectors Tell Their Stories.”
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) – libertyinnorthkorea.org
Voice of the Martyrs: “The Underground Church in North Korea.”
Open Doors USA: “World Watch List 2024 – North Korea.”
The Washington Post: “South Korean Christians Pray at the DMZ” (2022).
Christian Hotline & Prayer Support
If you’re struggling or need someone to pray with you, please reach out.
National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988
Focus on the Family Prayer Line: 1-877-771-4357
The 700 Club Prayer Line: 1-800-700-7000
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: 1-888-388-2683
Chatnow (24/7 Christian Chat & Prayer):
https://chatnow.org
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Call to Repentance
If you’ve been trying to earn your way into heaven, it’s time to stop striving and start surrendering. Today can be the day everything changes.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Don’t wait for a better moment. Turn from your sin, believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and receive the gift of eternal life.
He is calling—respond to Him today.
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Freedom is fragile. Gratitude keeps it alive.