On Freedom and Truth: Yeonmi Park and Stephen Blackwoo‪d‬

"For me to have this voice right now, so many people had to die."

North Korean defector and human rights champion Yeonmi Park speaks with Stephen Blackwood about her journey to freedom: first from an oppressive political regime, then from slavery in China, and then from her own inner humiliation and fear. They speak about agency, resilience, and redemption, as well as the life of the mind, our need for others, and, above all, the relation between freedom and truth.

Image: Korea, Joseon dynasty, Lotuses, Insects, and Birds, 연화백로도 (蓮花白鷺圖), 1800s, The Cleveland Museum of Art.