Fundamentals of Communication: Analysis of Yeonmi Park's Speech

This report analyzes Yeonmi Park's speech, focusing on the suppression of human rights in North Korea under Kim Jong Un's dictatorship. The report examines the message delivered through her speech, which she presented in various public forums, including the 'One Young World Summit' in Dublin. The analysis explores her experiences, including the abduction of people, the glorification of Kim's reign in textbooks, and the economic and social terrors faced by North Koreans. The report highlights her call for international awareness and action, particularly from influential powers like China and the United States, to help North Koreans achieve freedom. It emphasizes the importance of her message in opening the world's eyes to the brutalities of dictatorship and the value of democracy, drawing on references from various sources to support the claims and premises discussed. The conclusion reflects on the impact of Park's speech in valuing democracy and fundamental rights.

Running Head: FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
Yeonmi Park: My Escape from North Korea
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
Introduction
In this report I will discuss about the significant public message that was spread through
the speech of the 26 year old girl in Yeonmi Park. She voiced her points against the suppression
of the human rights ion North Korea under the dictatorship of Kim Jong Un and the horrors of
the North Korean People. She expressed her ideas in several public forums which became
popular in the YouTube channel in the recent days.
The message was delivered by the 26 year girl Yeonmi Park who somehow fled away
from North Korea when she was 21 and delivered her first speech on the ‘One Young World
Summit’ that was held in Dublin in the year 2014. I saw the video of her speech which was first
posted in the YouTube channel on 7th December, 2014. The video was uploaded by the popular
You Tube channel ‘Raising Awareness for North Koreans’
The audience who first heard Yeonmi Park was the people who attended the summit of
the Young World Summit in 2014. The entire world viewed it on 7th December, 2014. The issue
of the dictatorship of Kim Jong Un was already in the news at that time. But no one ever raised
their voice against his dictatorship. The speech of Yeonmi Park brought the issue of the human
rights abuse into light in front of the entire world (Smith 2016).
Discussion
My Claim
My claim for this media message is what steps should be taken by the world and
organizations like the United Nations in protecting the North Koreans from the terrific
dictatorship rule of kim Jong and the question that is raised is why the entire nation of North
Korea is silent on this critical issue.

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Premise 1
The initial response to the speech has only triggered the voice among the North Koreans
who have been suppressed. But later it reached the entire globe including me. Yeonmi’s speech
made me realized that how lucky we are to live like civilians in a democratic nation.
 Supporting Point 1
Yeonmi Park highlighted few facts that are against the basic human rights
standard. The first point is abduction of people for making international phone calls, the text
books in schools and colleges comprised of the glorification of Kim’s reign and finally the rape
of her aunt for watching a Hollywood Movie. The Dictators of Kim could rape women at any
point of time. Yeonmi when she was 13 saw her mother voluntarily succumbing to rape by the
Chinese brokers in order to save Yeonmi from getting raped (Cussen 2016).
 Supporting Point 2
She mentioned ways in which the rest of the world can help the North Koreans. The first way is
to spread awareness among the people of the rest of the world. Second she urged the influential
powers like China and United States to help the North Koreans to walk towards the path of
Freedom.
 Supporting Point 3
Yeonmi highlighted that the North Koreans did not get the chance to read about love stories,
Romeo Juliet or other such good things in their country. She said she never saw anything of love
between the North Koreans. The people were just filled with constant fears and subjugation from
the North Korean Dictators. She raised the question through the premise in front of the entire

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globe whether the humans should be deprived of their basic rights just because of their birth
place where the rest of the world can enjoy all sorts of freedom (Lee 2017).
Premise 2
This premise talks about the socio political and the economic terrors that the North
Koreans face daily:
 Supporting Point 1: In the You tube post on 12th June 2018, published by the New York
Times,Yeonmi talked about the famines that she has survived when she was a child. The
economic conditions were so disastrous that her family had to survive on dragonflies on
several occasions. The social conditions were severe which was evident when Yeonmi
highlighted about the several concentration camps that Kim runs which the rest of the
world does not know. Her father was himself the victim of the concentration camp.
 Suppporting 2: Yeonmi talked about the strong political propaganda that Kim has in
order to hide the incidences that happen in North Korea. She talked about several
instances when Kim has deliberately covered ye human rights abuses from the rest of the
world. Yeonmi has also criticized the American President, Donald Trump for inviti9ng
Kim to his country can calling him the ‘promoter of peace’ when America clearly knows
about the dictatorship of Kim (Pollack 2017).
Premise 3
I found this media message extremely important for the sake of not only the North
Koreans but also for the general people around the world. The speech of Yeonmi has opened the
eyes of the entire world regarding the brutalities of dictatorship that any president can exercise in
his country (Choi 2018).

4FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
The speech of Yeonmi is the recent media message spread through the You Tube
channel. First the video came out in the year 2014. Since that period of time She has opened the
eyes of millions like me to the atrocities faced by the North Koreans on a daily basis.
Yeonmi’s message definitely delivers an influential and international appeal to the entire world.
Especially at the contemporary period, where every day we read about the democracies and its
controversies, her speech taught us that the fundamental rights of people should be the highest
priority of any government and if it fails then the civilians should protest against it.
Conclusion
Finally , I would like to conclude by stating that Yeomi’s speech not only opened my
eyes against the dictatorship of kim Jon but I also learnt to value the democracy of my own
country. I realized the fact that we are privileged to wake up every morning into the atmosphere
of bliss and peace that prevails around us. We take the freedom and the fundamental rights given
to us for granted and complain about what we are deprived of, at least now after going through
her videos on a daily basis I have realized that we are blessed to live like civilian s in the
democratic world.

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References
Choi, J., 2018. North Korean defectors’ dream psychology and implicit learning in South Korea.
Cussen, J., 2016. On the Call to Dismiss North Korean Defectors' Memoirs and on Their Dark
American Alternative.
Lee, J.H., 2017. For North Koreans, the war never ended. The Wilson Quarterly, 41(2).
Pollack, J.D., 2017. No exit: North Korea, nuclear weapons, and international security.
Routledge.
Smith, H., 2016. Hungry for peace: International security, humanitarian assistance, and social
change in North Korea. US Institute of Peace Press.
Bibliography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fviUrk_sh6o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLzTo-y8Ef0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x_-_94ga3Q