Euna Lee: What I learned as a prisoner in North Korea
Euna Lee: Cosa ho imparato da prigioniera in Corea del Nord
Euna Lee strives to be a voice for the voiceless and a window for those with no access to outside information. Full bio
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what the young generation of workers want
ho letto ciò che vogliono
non parlate solo di impatto,
was: don't just talk about impact,
that I had when I was in college.
lo stesso obiettivo che avevo al college.
for those who live under injustice;
che vivevano un'ingiustizia;
a documentary journalist,
giornalista di documentari,
per 140 giorni.
that turned my life upside down.
che stravolse la mia vita.
about North Korean refugees
un documentario sui rifugiati nordcoreani
sotto il limite dell'umano.
of North Korean defectors use
da molti disertori nordcoreani
of the frozen river,
the condition of the cold weather
of my team members shouted,
della mia squadra gridò:
in green uniforms with rifles,
in uniforme verde con i fucili,
don't let them shoot my head.
che non mi sparino in testa.
Laura Ling fall on her knees.
at that short moment,
leave her alone there
di non poterla lasciare lì da sola
"Euna, non mi sento le gambe".
"Euna, I can't feel my legs."
by these two Korean soldiers.
da questi due soldati coreani.
to take us to their army base.
a portarci alla loro base militare.
would show up from China.
arrivasse dalla Cina.
che imbracciava un fucile.
he raised his rifle to hit me,
alzò il fucile per colpirmi,
with these worst-case scenarios,
le ipotesi peggiori
statement wasn't helping.
non era di aiuto.
delle strane cose.
che mi portò il suo cappotto
nel fiume ghiacciato
by these odd experiences.
è sempre stato il nemico,
under armistice for 63 years,
sono in armistizio da 63 anni,
in the '80s and '90s,
sulla Corea del Nord.
about North Korea.
being brutally killed
brutalmente ucciso
solo perché aveva detto:
just because he said,
su un ragazzino sudcoreano
defeating these fat, big, red pig,
dei nordcoreani dell'epoca.
first leader at the time.
these horrible stories over and over
queste storie orribili
nella mia giovane mente:
I dehumanized them,
di averli disumanizzati,
became equated
si è sovrapposta perfettamente
since I was out at the border.
da quando avevo lasciato il confine.
la forza per andare avanti".
strength to keep going."
in the enemy's hand?
dalle mani del nemico?
I thought the worst case
pensavo che dopo la gentilezza
we were all these red pigs?"
tutti dei maiali rossi?",
that I just showed you.
che vi ho mostrato.
about my journey, my work,
del mio viaggio, del mio lavoro,
la confessione che volevano sentire.
the confession that they wanted to hear.
in attesa del trasferimento.
to be transferred.
nothing else to do,
nient'altro da fare
to these two female guards
they were talking about.
da una famiglia benestante.
from an affluent family.
with these colorful dresses,
"My Heart Will Go On" --
di Celine Dion -
to torture me without knowing.
ci metteva un sacco di tempo a truccarsi,
in the morning to put on makeup,
this Chinese drama,
after watching this."
a guardare i nostri programmi".
prodotti dalla sua nazione.
produced TV shows.
of a free mind than Guard A,
più libera della Guardia A
quando diceva ciò che pensava.
whenever she expressed herself.
all these female colleagues --
accadono davvero negli USA.
really happen in the US.
young couples are not even allowed
non possono nemmeno
had gotten this information,
questa informazione
ancor prima che io dicessi qualcosa.
even before I said anything.
that I was their prisoner,
che io ero loro prigioniera
to my high school classroom again.
della scuola superiore.
grew up watching a similar cartoon,
guardando un cartone simile al mio,
contro la Corea del Sud e gli USA.
South Korea and the US.
la rabbia di questa gente.
these people's anger was coming from.
imparando che noi siamo i nemici,
learning that we are enemies,
that they would hate us
che ci separavano.
at Current TV at the time
di Current TV a quel tempo,
della sindrome di Stoccolma?"
of Stockholm Syndrome?"
between me and the interrogator
tra me e chi mi interrogava
that we couldn't climb over.
che non potevamo oltrepassare.
each other as human beings
come essere umani
del futuro dei nostri figli.
for our children.
di tornare a casa,
per salutarmi
il centro di detenzione.
the detention center.
ci stesse guardando,
about dating life in the US --
delle relazioni amorose negli USA -
della Corea del Nord:
that I remember of North Korea:
ambassadors of our countries,
ambasciatori dei nostri paesi,
e alla mia vita.
has blurred as time has passed.
è sbiadito col tempo.
about North Korea provoking the US.
sta provocando gli USA.
that when I was over there,
che quando ero laggiù
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