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Chapter 21
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in In Order to Live, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Propaganda, Indoctrination, and Truth
Family and Community
Survival, Desperation, and Adaptation
Identity and Freedom
Gender and Violence
Summary
Analysis
As a defector, Yeonmi qualified for free university tuition—if she could pass the demanding entrance exams. During her interview with Dongguk University professors, she fought to convince them she belonged there, explaining that while other applicants had been studying in classrooms, she had been “learning from life.” She was accepted and began her first term in March 2012. Before classes started, however, a producer from EBS—the Educational Broadcasting System—approached her about appearing on a cable program to share her experiences as a defector. Though hesitant to speak publicly, she and Keum Sook agreed it might help them reach Eunmi, wherever she was. The segment aired in January 2012, but no information about Eunmi surfaced.
The university interview forces Yeonmi to turn her literal survival into evidence of her academic capability, arguing that her lived experience holds just as much value as formal schooling. Passing the exam and earning admission into a top university is her first step into a world that used to be completely out of reach. But the EBS invitation pulls Yeonmi back into the role of “defector,” reminding her that she can’t fully outrun her former life. Her decision to appear reflects how the search for Eunmi still guides all of her choices, even when it means exposing her pain on national television.
Active
Themes
During her first year at Dongguk, Yeonmi read everything and threw herself into her coursework. One of her hardest classes was “Understanding North Korea,” which confronted her with even more truths about the regime that she had never known. She rarely told people she was from the North, passing as a South Korean instead, and she lived in that fantasy for some time. Only a handful of classmates, mainly those in her major, knew anything about her past, and most of her peers had never seen her EBS appearance.
Although immersing herself in her coursework largely allows Yeonmi to build a life defined by her intellect rather than her trauma, the “Understanding North Korea” class forces her to confront a more expansive view of the regime’s brutality—knowledge that disrupts her attempts to move forward. Passing as a native South Korean becomes a temporary refuge, but it’s ultimately a lie. The selective disclosure of her identity reflects her need to control how—and to whom—her past is known, especially after a lifetime of surveillance and judgment.
Active
Themes
Shortly after the EBS segment aired, Yeonmi was contacted by a producer from another cable program, Now on My Way to Meet You, a talk-and-variety show featuring an all-North Korean cast. The women performed, danced, sang, and spoke with celebrities, and the show aimed to humanize defectors to the South Korean public. Yeonmi agreed to participate, still hoping Eunmi might see her. The show became popular and portrayed North Korean refugees sympathetically. To protect herself, Yeonmi went by the name “Ye Ju,” appearing multiple times to discuss her childhood and her missing sister, though she avoided the most painful details of her past. Listening to the other defectors’ stories strengthened her resolve to hold criminals like the Kim family accountable.
Active
Themes
