ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yeonmi Park - Human rights activist
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park is becoming a leading voice of oppressed people around the world.

Why you should listen

Yeonmi Park's escape from North Korea has given the world a window into the lives of its people. At the 2014 Oslo Freedom Forum and the One Young World Summit in Dublin, Park became an international phenomenon, delivering passionate and deeply personal speeches about the brutality of the North Korean regime. Her address to One Young World on the horrors of detention camps, political executions and sex trafficking has been viewed over 320 million times on YouTube. The BBC named her one of their "Top Global Women."

In 2017, Park joined the Tory Burch Foundation's Embrace Ambition campaign, a global effort to dispel the double standard of ambition as a positive trait in men and a negative trait in women. Her searing memoir, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom, was released in the fall 2015, and now she's urging the world to recognize the oppressed people of Kim Jong-Un's reign. She believes that change will come through young people like herself, whose exposure to capitalism and Western media is eroding the authority of the Kim dynasty.

Currently a student at Columbia University, Park has published an op-ed about North Korea's "black market generation” in the Washington Post and has been featured on CNN, CNBC and the BBC, as well as in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She serves on the executive board of directors of the Human Rights Foundation, the world's preeminent organization devoted to disrupting dictatorships.

More profile about the speaker
Yeonmi Park | Speaker | TED.com
TED2019

Yeonmi Park: What I learned about freedom after escaping North Korea

朴延美: 我在逃離北韓之後學到的自由

Filmed:
2,371,462 views

「北韓的情況難以想像。」身為人權運動者的朴延美在十歲時從北韓逃離。她與我們分享童年時的悲傷往事,並且反思自由的脆弱,以及在世界上最黑暗的地方能有什麼改變。
- Human rights activist
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park is becoming a leading voice of oppressed people around the world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

1993 年我出生在北韓的北部
00:13
I was born天生 in 1993
in the northern北方 part部分 of North Korea韓國,
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00:18
in a town called Hyesan海山,
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一個名叫惠山的小鎮,
00:21
which哪一個 is on the border邊境 with China中國.
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鄰近中國邊界。
00:24
I had loving愛心 parents父母
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我有愛我的父母
00:27
and one older舊的 sister妹妹.
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和一個姊姊。
00:31
Before I was even 10 years年份 old,
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在我才十歲大的時候,
00:34
my father父親 was sent發送 to a labor勞動 camp
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我爸就被送去勞改營,
00:37
for engaging in illegal非法 trading貿易.
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因為他非法買賣一些東西。
00:41
Now, by "illegal非法 trading貿易" --
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所謂的非法買賣,
00:45
he was selling銷售 clogs木底鞋, sugar,
rice白飯 and later後來 copper
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其實他是賣一些木鞋、
糖、米,之後還賣了銅,
00:51
to feed飼料 us.
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只為了餵飽我們。
00:55
In 2007, my sister妹妹 and I
decided決定 to escape逃逸.
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2007 年,我姊姊和我決定逃跑。
01:01
She was 16 years年份 old,
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她當時 16 歲,
01:04
and I was 13 years年份 old.
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我 13 歲。
01:08
I need you to understand理解
what the word "escape逃逸" means手段
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你們要了解,
「逃跑」這兩字在北韓是什麼意思。
01:13
in the context上下文 of North Korea韓國.
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01:17
We were all starving挨餓,
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我們都非常飢餓,
01:20
and hunger飢餓 means手段 death死亡 in North Korea韓國.
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而飢餓在北韓意謂著死亡。
01:25
So it was the only option選項 for us.
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所以逃跑是我們唯一的選擇。
01:29
I didn't even understand理解
the concept概念 of escape逃逸,
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我當時還不了解逃跑是什麼意思,
01:33
but I could see the lights燈火
from China中國 at night,
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但晚上我可以看見
中國那頭的燈光,
01:38
and I wondered想知道 if I go where the light is,
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我想著如果我能到有光的地方,
01:43
I might威力 be able能夠 to find a bowl of rice白飯.
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也許就能找到一碗飯。
01:48
It's not like we had a grand盛大 plan計劃 or maps地圖.
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我們沒有什麼宏偉計畫或地圖。
01:52
We did not know anything
about what was going to happen發生.
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我們完全不知道會發生什麼事。
01:57
Imagine想像 your apartment公寓
building建造 caught抓住 fire.
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想像你的公寓大樓失火了,
02:00
I mean, what would you do?
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你會怎麼辦?
02:02
Would you stay there to be burned,
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你會坐以待斃,
02:05
or would you jump off out of the window窗口
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還是從窗戶跳下,
02:07
and see what happens發生?
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之後再看著辦?
02:09
That's what we did.
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我們就是那樣想的。
02:11
We jumped跳下 out of the house
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我們從大樓跳下,
02:14
instead代替 of the fire.
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而不是等火燒上來。
02:17
North Korea韓國 is unimaginable不可思議.
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北韓的情況難以想像。
對我來說,要回答
02:22
It's very hard for me
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02:25
when people ask me
what it feels感覺 like to live生活 there.
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住北韓是什麼感覺很難。
02:30
To be honest誠實,
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說實話,
02:32
I tell you:
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我可以告訴各位,
02:33
you can't even imagine想像 it.
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你絕對想像不到。
02:39
The words in any language語言 can't describe描述,
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沒有任何語言可以形容,
02:43
because it's a totally完全 different不同 planet行星,
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因為那是個完全不同的星球,
02:47
as you cannot不能 imagine想像
your life on Mars火星 right now.
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就像你無法想像現在
要在火星上的生活一樣。
02:53
For example, the word "love"
has only one meaning含義:
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比如說,「愛」只有一個意思:
02:59
love for the Dear Leader領導.
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就是愛偉大的領袖。
03:03
There's no concept概念
of romantic浪漫 love in North Korea韓國.
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在北韓沒有浪漫的那種愛。
03:09
And if you don't know the words,
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如果你不認得某個字,
03:12
that means手段 you don't
understand理解 the concept概念,
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也就是你不了解這個概念,
03:17
and therefore因此, you don't even realize實現
that concept概念 is even a possibility可能性.
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因此你也不會理解,
這個概念甚至有可能存在。
03:25
Let me give you another另一個 example.
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讓我再舉一個例子。
03:29
Growing生長 up in North Korea韓國,
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在北韓長大,
03:31
we truly believed相信 that our Dear Leader領導
is an almighty大能 god
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我們真心相信我們的
偉大領袖是萬能的神,
03:37
who can even read my thoughts思念.
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他甚至能看穿我在想什麼。
03:40
I was even afraid害怕 to think in North Korea韓國.
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我在北韓甚至不敢思考。
03:45
We are told that he's starving挨餓 for us,
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我們聽說他為我們挨餓,
03:47
and he's working加工 tirelessly孜孜不倦地 for us,
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他日夜無休為我們工作,
03:50
and my heart just broke打破 for him.
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而我就因此為他感到心痛。
03:53
When I escaped逃脫 to South Korea韓國,
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我逃到南韓之後,
03:56
people told me that
he was actually其實 a dictator獨裁者,
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有人跟我說他其實是獨裁者,
04:00
he had cars汽車,
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他有車,
04:02
many許多, many許多 resorts度假村,
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很多很多渡假別墅,
04:03
and he had an ultraluxurious超豪華 life.
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他的生活極為奢華。
04:08
And then I remember記得
looking at a picture圖片 of him,
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我記得自己看著一張有他的照片,
04:12
realizing實現 for the first time
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第一次意識到
04:16
that he is the largest最大 guy in the picture圖片.
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他是照片裡最大的那一隻。
04:19
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:22
And it hit擊中 me.
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這件事讓我大受打擊。
04:23
Finally最後, I realized實現 he wasn't starving挨餓.
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那時我才終於了解,他沒有挨餓。
04:29
But I was never able能夠 to see that before,
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但我以前從來沒有辦法看清這些,
04:32
until直到 someone有人 told me that he was fat脂肪.
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直到有人跟我說他很胖我才懂。
04:36
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:37
Really, someone有人 had to teach me
that he was fat脂肪.
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真的,要有人教我說,
他這樣叫做胖。
04:42
If you have never practiced
critical危急 thinking思維,
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如果你沒學過批判性思考,
04:46
then you simply只是 see
what you're told to see.
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你看到的就只會是別人跟你說的。
04:52
The biggest最大 question also people ask me
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其他人對我提出的大哉問還有:
04:55
is: "Why is there no revolution革命
inside North Korea韓國?
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「為什麼北韓沒有革命?
04:58
Are we dumb?
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我們傻嗎?
05:01
Why is there no revolution革命
for 70 years年份 of this oppression壓迫?"
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為什麼歷經 70 年壓迫
卻沒人發動革命?」
05:07
And I say:
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我回答:
05:10
If you don't know you're a slave奴隸,
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「如果你不知道自己是奴隸,
05:13
if you don't know
you're isolated孤立 or oppressed壓迫,
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不知道自己被與世隔絕、壓迫,
05:18
how do you fight鬥爭 to be free自由?
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要怎麼為自由而戰?
05:22
I mean, if you know you're isolated孤立,
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我的意思是,如果你知道
自己被與世隔絕,
05:25
that means手段 you are not isolated孤立.
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那就表示你並非真的與世隔絕。
05:28
Not knowing會心 is the true真正
definition定義 of isolation隔離,
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不知道才是與世隔絕真正的定義,
05:33
and that's why I never knew知道
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所以我從不知道
05:35
I was isolated孤立 when I was in North Korea韓國.
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我在北韓是被與世隔絕。
05:39
I literally按照字面 thought I was
in the center中央 of the universe宇宙.
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我真的以為我們是在宇宙中心。
05:45
So here is my idea理念 worth價值 spreading傳播:
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我想要傳遞值得分享的想法是:
05:52
a lot of people think
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很多人以為
05:54
humans人類 inherently本質 know
what is right and wrong錯誤,
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人類生來就能分辨是非對錯,
05:58
the difference區別 between之間
justice正義 and injustice不公正,
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懂得正義與邪惡的差別,
06:03
what we deserve值得 and we don't deserve值得.
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我們值得被怎樣對待。
06:07
I tell them: BSBS.
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我跟他們說:放屁。
06:10
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:11
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
06:18
Everything,
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所有的事,
06:21
everything must必須 be taught,
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所有的事都得經過教導,
06:24
including包含 compassion同情.
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憐憫也是。
06:27
If I see someone有人 dying垂死
on the street right now,
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如果我現在看見有人
在路邊奄奄一息,
06:34
I will do anything to save保存 that person.
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我會不顧一切來救他。
06:39
But when I was in North Korea韓國,
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但我在北韓的時候,
06:41
I saw people dying垂死
and dead on the streets街道.
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我會看著有人路死街頭,
06:47
I felt nothing.
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而沒有任何感覺。
06:49
Not because I'm a psychopath精神病患者,
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不是因為我是心理病態,
06:52
but because I never learned學到了
the concept概念 of compassion同情.
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而是因為我從未學過憐憫的概念。
06:57
Only, I felt compassion同情,
empathy同情 and sympathy同情 in my heart
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只有在我的內心感受到
憐憫、同理和同情,
07:02
after I learned學到了 the word
"compassion同情" and the concept概念,
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我才學會「憐憫」
這個字和這個概念,
07:05
and I feel them now.
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我現在有這些感覺了。
07:10
Now I live生活 in the United聯合的 States狀態
as a free自由 person.
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現在我住在美國,人身自由。
07:16
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
07:17
Thank you.
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謝謝。
07:19
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
07:24
And recently最近,
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最近,
07:26
the leader領導 of the free自由 country國家,
our President主席 Trump王牌,
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自由國度的領袖,我們的川普總統,
07:30
met會見 with my former前任的 god.
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和我以前的神會面。
07:35
And he decided決定 human人的 rights權利
is not important重要 enough足夠
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他認定,人權沒那麼重要,
07:39
to include包括 in his agendas議程,
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不需要排進議題裡,
07:43
and he did not talk about it.
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所以他對此隻字不提。
07:47
And it scares恐慌 me.
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這嚇壞我了。
07:50
We live生活 in a world世界 right now
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我們現在所住的世界裡,
07:54
where a dictator獨裁者 can be praised稱讚
for executing執行 his uncle叔叔,
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獨裁者處決伯父還能受到讚揚,
08:00
for killing謀殺 his half brother哥哥,
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他殺害同父異母的哥哥、
08:02
killing謀殺 thousands數千 of North Koreans韓國人.
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殺害成千上萬名北韓人,
08:06
And that was worthy值得 of praise讚美.
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還能夠得到讚揚。
08:10
And also it made製作 me think:
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這也讓我想,
08:14
perhaps也許 we all need to be taught
something new about freedom自由 now.
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也許我們現在都需要學習
自由還有什麼新的涵義。
08:24
Freedom自由 is fragile脆弱.
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自由很脆弱。
08:29
I don't want to alarm報警 you, but it is.
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我不想讓你受驚,但事實是如此。
08:33
It only took three generations
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只花了三個世代
08:36
to make North Korea韓國 into
George喬治 Orwell's奧威爾 "1984."
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就讓北韓變成喬治.歐威爾
筆下的《一九八四》。
08:42
It took only three generations.
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只花了三個世代。
如果我們不為人權而戰,
08:48
If we don't fight鬥爭 for human人的 rights權利
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08:52
for the people who are oppressed壓迫
right now who don't have a voice語音,
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不為受壓迫、無法發聲的人而戰,
08:56
as free自由 people here,
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身為自由的人,
09:00
who will fight鬥爭 for us
when we are not free自由?
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當我們不自由的時候,
誰會為我們而戰?
09:04
Machines? Animals動物? I don't know.
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機器嗎?動物嗎?我不知道。
09:11
I think it's wonderful精彩
that we care關心 about climate氣候 change更改,
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我覺得能關心一些議題很美好,
像是氣候變遷、動物權益、性別平等
09:17
animal動物 rights權利, gender性別 equality平等,
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09:19
all of these things.
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這類的事。
09:21
The fact事實 that we care關心
about animals'動物' rights權利,
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因為我們關心動物權益,
09:24
that means手段 that's
how beautiful美麗 our heart is,
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也就代表了我們的心地有多善良,
09:28
that we care關心 about someone有人
who cannot不能 speak說話 for themselves他們自己.
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我們關心無法為自己發聲的對象。
09:32
And North Koreans韓國人 right now
cannot不能 speak說話 for themselves他們自己.
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北韓人民現在無法為自己發聲。
09:38
They don't have internet互聯網
in the 21stST century世紀.
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身在 21 世紀的他們沒有網路可用。
09:42
We don't have electricity電力,
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我們沒有電,
09:45
and it is the darkest最黑暗 place地點
on earth地球 right now.
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那裡是現在地球上最暗的地方。
09:50
Now I want to say something
to my fellow同伴 North Koreans韓國人
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現在我想告訴我在北韓
09:54
who are living活的 in that darkness黑暗.
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活在黑暗之中的同胞。
09:58
They might威力 not believe this,
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也許他們不會相信我,
09:59
but I want to tell them
that an alternative替代 life is possible可能.
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但是我想告訴他們,
生活有其他可能。
10:04
Be free自由.
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可以活得自由。
10:07
From my experience經驗,
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從我的經驗看來,
10:11
literally按照字面 anything is possible可能.
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真的什麼事都有可能發生。
10:16
I was bought,
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我被人買走,
10:17
I was sold出售 as a slave奴隸.
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賣給別人當奴隸。
10:20
But now I'm here,
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但我現在在這裡,
10:22
and that is why I believe in miracles奇蹟.
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這也就是為什麼我相信奇蹟。
10:27
The one thing that I learned學到了 from history歷史
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我從歷史上學到的一件事,
10:30
is that nothing is forever永遠 in this world世界.
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就是世界上沒有什麼是永遠的。
10:35
And that is why we have
every一切 reason原因 to be hopeful有希望.
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而這也就是為什麼
我們無論如何都能懷抱希望。
10:41
Thank you.
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謝謝。
10:42
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Marssi Draw
Reviewed by Regina Chu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yeonmi Park - Human rights activist
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park is becoming a leading voice of oppressed people around the world.

Why you should listen

Yeonmi Park's escape from North Korea has given the world a window into the lives of its people. At the 2014 Oslo Freedom Forum and the One Young World Summit in Dublin, Park became an international phenomenon, delivering passionate and deeply personal speeches about the brutality of the North Korean regime. Her address to One Young World on the horrors of detention camps, political executions and sex trafficking has been viewed over 320 million times on YouTube. The BBC named her one of their "Top Global Women."

In 2017, Park joined the Tory Burch Foundation's Embrace Ambition campaign, a global effort to dispel the double standard of ambition as a positive trait in men and a negative trait in women. Her searing memoir, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom, was released in the fall 2015, and now she's urging the world to recognize the oppressed people of Kim Jong-Un's reign. She believes that change will come through young people like herself, whose exposure to capitalism and Western media is eroding the authority of the Kim dynasty.

Currently a student at Columbia University, Park has published an op-ed about North Korea's "black market generation” in the Washington Post and has been featured on CNN, CNBC and the BBC, as well as in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. She serves on the executive board of directors of the Human Rights Foundation, the world's preeminent organization devoted to disrupting dictatorships.

More profile about the speaker
Yeonmi Park | Speaker | TED.com