“It’s not easy to give up a worldview that is built into your bones and imprinted on your brain like the sound of your own father’s voice.”

North Korean defector Yeonmi Park penned these words in her memoir, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom, to illustrate how difficult it was to break the chains of a totalitarian regime that had complete control over her body, mind and spirit.

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

The Cost of Freedom

Growing up in North Korea, Park escaped to China when she was 13 years old. Here she was sold to human traffickers, enduring several years of mental and physical abuse. In a desperate attempt to find freedom, Park and her mother crossed the Gobi Desert to Mongolia from China, eventually finding refuge in South Korea.

Communism Rising in America

Years later, Park would move to America, only to discover that the frightening signs of communism were appearing all around her. Whether it was the propagandization of “collective guilt,” the purposeful creation of racial division, or the deceptive promises of equity, she quickly identified the same political tactics being used in American society. In response, she wrote several books and gave many interviews, sounding the alarm that the communist ideologies she had been indoctrinated to believe, were infiltrating the American psyche.

In order to heed Park’s warnings, one must understand the deep, dark details of her struggle in a country where the simple concepts of love and friendship were unknown. Living in one of the planet’s most restrictive, cruel and isolated dictatorships, she knew nothing about the outside world. In her mind, only the supreme leaders and their twisted vision of utopia existed. All the while, the starving people of North Korea lived to serve them.

Starvation is an everyday reality in North Korea. Grocery stores are not an option, nor is running water, electricity or indoor plumbing. Bugs, rats and leaves are the usual mainstay if one is lucky enough to find them. In the winter, the occasional frozen potato or cabbage might barely sustain a family. Human feces are used to fertilize collective farms where workers see very little of the harvest they’ve toiled over.

You’ll Own Nothing and Be Miserable

The North Korean regime promised its people a land reform program that would abolish poverty and inequality. It boasted of a country where homes, healthcare and food would be plentiful and overseen by an anti-capitalist government. The great lie was that citizens would own nothing and everyone would be “happy.” Yet all that resulted was hunger, darkness and misery.

Dictatorship of the Mind

Park recalls that the biggest threat in this collective nightmare wasn’t just the lack of basic necessities, but rather the political persecution that comes with expressing any idea that differs from the ruling class. People suspected of “wrong-doing, wrong-thinking, wrong-knowledge, or wrong-association” are deemed guilty and deserving of a three-generation punishment. This idea is based off a philosophy known as “collective responsibility,” or “guilt by association” which means that the parents, children and sometimes grand-children of an offending person are guilty of crimes against the state. Therefore, all are sent to prison for the offense. There is no judge, jury or courtroom–just a life sentence.

“Factionalists or enemies of the class, whoever they are, their seed must be eliminated through three generations.” These words, spoken in 1972 by the North Korean dictator Kim II-sung, epitomized the importance of this practice to the regime.

Conditions in North Korean prison camps are so harsh that most do not survive more than a few months. Additionally, prisoners are forced to clean chemical waste sites, or used as experimental guinea pigs for “medicines,” surgical procedures, poisons, and un-tested treatments.

While all of this is bad enough, there’s a crucial component which allows a totalitarian system like this to operate with little resistance. Park identifies this critical piece as the “dictatorship of the mind.” The supreme leaders rule over the people as gods, brainwashing them to believe they know every thought, every emotion and every intent. Park compares it to a religion because it’s believed that the spirits of their leaders live on forever. Each week, people must repent for their sins against the government, reflecting on how they could have been less selfish and more devoted to the cause. Their entire lives are focused on serving these mind-reading “gods” whom they will inherit paradise with. This is why even speaking of the Bible or Jesus Christ is punishable by death.

Critical thinking in North Korea is not an option because everything is chosen by the regime. The same propaganda plays continually, feeding the population lies about greedy capitalists and the selfless sacrifices of their leaders. The concept of family is tightly controlled as well. Children are taught to love the dictators instead of their parents. Every child must publicly criticize their classmates and family, whom they see as comrades, rather than friends or loving care-givers. “Trust no one” is the motto of all those who give their lives to the party. Even though starvation, poverty and death lurks in every corner, the people believe that this is the sacrifice one makes to create a socialist paradise.

Heed the Warning

Life in the United States has been a blessing for Park, but she can’t help but notice disturbing patterns that have unfolded around her in the last few years. Today’s generation of Americans are being blamed for the sins of the past. Public shaming abounds as people criticize dissenting opinions. Certain groups are called privileged, while others are elevated as a special class. Racial and social divides erupt among those who were once friends.

Devotion to the new creeds and truths is essential. With a latte in one hand and a Coach handbag in the other, dogmatic influencers and leaders propagate irrational ideas that everyone must accept–men can be women, fossil fuels are evil, science is not debatable, and equity overrides meritocracy. The propaganda machine never stops, urging youth to question their parents and their values. Whether it’s legacy news media, Netflix entertainment, or public schools and universities, all roads lead to collectivism and a life without traditional family, religion, or faith in Jesus Christ.

Park warns that these same tactics are still being used in North Korea and they are shadows of a growing evil that must be stopped. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has taken the reins, with leaders vowing to remove divisive programs such as DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion). Important goals include strengthening American businesses, families and patriotism. Recognizing there are only two genders, pursuing justice for soldiers whose medical rights were violated, protecting the unborn, prioritizing energy over carbon credits, exiting global collective agreements and restoring free speech are just some of the areas being tackled in a nation where rights and freedoms were on the chopping block.

We Must Continue to Pray

Even though much improvement is being made, this is not a time to sit back and relax. Now more than ever, we must pray that our nation stands firmly with God. In North Korea, the only gods are the government leaders and this leads to complete devastation and misery. We must pray that our nation’s lawmakers, government agencies and citizens are more devoted to God’s ideals than their own. The voices of the people must never be shut down through censorship or collective shaming. In this nation, we should call each other friend, not comrade. Above all, we must love our neighbors as ourselves and desire biblical truth over the latest trends and ideologies.

Yeonmi Park became a Christian after escaping the horrors of North Korea. While obtaining physical and mental freedom was a life-changing experience, none of it compares with the spiritual freedom she received through Jesus Christ. She urges all Americans to never take this freedom for granted.

Lord Jesus, we pray for the people of North Korea, who are living in bondage to their leaders. Set these captives free and save their precious souls. In America, help us protect the rights we have been so graciously given and let us never forget that they only exist because of You.

What do you think about Yeonmi Park’s story? How can we pray for the people of North Korea?

Angela Rodriguez is an author, blogger and former teacher who studies the historical and biblical connections between Israel and the United States. You can visit her blogs at 67owls.com and 100trumpets.com. She is also the author of Psalm 91: Under the Wings of Jesus and Hallelujah’s Great Ride. Photo Credit: Micha Brändli on Unsplash.