Euna Lee: What I learned as a prisoner in North Korea
يونا لي: ما تعلمته من الأسر في كوريا الشمالية.
Euna Lee strives to be a voice for the voiceless and a window for those with no access to outside information. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
what the young generation of workers want
الجيل الأصغر من العاملين
was: don't just talk about impact,
"لا تتكلم عن التاُثير فقط،
that I had when I was in college.
عندما كنت في الجامعة.
for those who live under injustice;
لأجل الذين يعيشون تحت وطأة الظلم؛
a documentary journalist,
that turned my life upside down.
about North Korean refugees
عن اللاجئين من كوريا الشمالية
of North Korean defectors use
من الفارين من كوريا الشمالية
of the frozen river,
the condition of the cold weather
of my team members shouted,
in green uniforms with rifles,
يرتديان الزي الأخضر ويحملان البنادق،
don't let them shoot my head.
Laura Ling fall on her knees.
تقع على ركبتيها.
at that short moment,
في تلك اللحظة القصيرة،
leave her alone there
"Euna, I can't feel my legs."
"يونا، لا أستطيع الشعور بقدمي."
by these two Korean soldiers.
to take us to their army base.
إلى قاعدتهما العسكرية.
would show up from China.
he raised his rifle to hit me,
with these worst-case scenarios,
statement wasn't helping.
by these odd experiences.
هي العدو دائمًا
under armistice for 63 years,
in the '80s and '90s,
خلال الثمانينات والتسعينات
about North Korea.
being brutally killed
just because he said,
defeating these fat, big, red pig,
هذه الخنازير الحمراء السمينة،
first leader at the time.
في تلك الفترة.
these horrible stories over and over
I dehumanized them,
became equated
since I was out at the border.
strength to keep going."
in the enemy's hand?
I thought the worst case
اعتقدت أن الأمر الأسوء
we were all these red pigs?"
أننا هذه الخنازير الحمراء؟"
that I just showed you.
about my journey, my work,
the confession that they wanted to hear.
to be transferred.
nothing else to do,
to these two female guards
they were talking about.
from an affluent family.
with these colorful dresses,
"My Heart Will Go On" --
لـ(سيلين ديون).
to torture me without knowing.
in the morning to put on makeup,
في وضع مساحيق التجميل،
this Chinese drama,
after watching this."
التلفزيونية بعد مشاهدة هذا."
produced TV shows.
of a free mind than Guard A,
بحرية التفكير أكثر من الأولى،
whenever she expressed herself.
كلما كانت تعبر عن ذاتها.
all these female colleagues --
really happen in the US.
تحصل حقًا في الولايات المتحدة.
young couples are not even allowed
had gotten this information,
even before I said anything.
that I was their prisoner,
to my high school classroom again.
grew up watching a similar cartoon,
وهن يشاهدن كرتونًا مشابهًا،
South Korea and the US.
والولايات المتحدة.
these people's anger was coming from.
learning that we are enemies,
that they would hate us
at Current TV at the time
في قناة (كورنت تي في) حينها
of Stockholm Syndrome?"
between me and the interrogator
that we couldn't climb over.
لم نتمكن من تجاوزه.
each other as human beings
for our children.
the detention center.
about dating life in the US --
عن المواعدة في الولايات المتحدة،
that I remember of North Korea:
ambassadors of our countries,
نمثل سفراء بلادنا،
has blurred as time has passed.
كوريا الشمالية للولايات المتحدة.
about North Korea provoking the US.
that when I was over there,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Euna Lee - JournalistEuna Lee strives to be a voice for the voiceless and a window for those with no access to outside information.
Why you should listen
A seasoned journalist with more than years of experience, Euna Lee is a television executive producer for Voice of America's Korean Service (VOA). Prior to VOA, she worked for Fusion media, AJ+ and Al Jazeera TV networks.
Lee’s name became widely known after she was captured by the North Korean regime while covering a human trafficking story for Current TV, a cable network co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore. She wrote a memoir, The World is Bigger Now, about her experience while detained in North Korea for 140 days.
Lee has received various awards for her fearless work, including McGill Medal by University of Georgia and Glamour magazine's Women of the Year Award in 2009. At VOA, she strives to be a voice for the voiceless and a window for those with no access to outside information. Born and raised in South Korea, Lee holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
Euna Lee | Speaker | TED.com