Rhetorical Analysis of "Escaping From North Korea in Search of Freedom" Speech (Essay Example)

Humans will do anything possible to survive. From understanding emotions to rationalizing the next logical step, instincts play a crucial role in survival. In 1945, Kim Il-sung started his dictatorship in North Korea. This dictatorship led to terrible living conditions and treatments towards North Korean citizens. With limited freedoms available, a sense of fear was everywhere. In 2014, Yeonmi Park shared a speech at the One Young World Summit in Dublin. Park’s speech, “Escaping from North Korea in search of freedom,” recalls her struggles of escaping North Korea. Park grew up in a society under a dictatorship. She lived in a country where freedoms were limited, and every strict rule left no room for mistakes. Park feared for her life after seeing people she knew executed for doing things considered standard in other countries. After escaping North Korea, Park faced the death of her father and the raping of her mother. The events made her wonder why humans had to be subject to cruel, inhumane treatment. In her speech, she wanted to draw attention to the mistreatment of North Koreans and urge those listening to help. Park utilizes pathos, delivery, and allusions to ask the audience to help those oppressed by their government. 

Making a connection with the audience is crucial for persuasion; emotions are an effective way to accomplish this. Getting an emotional response from the audience will make the situation more understandable. Park uses pathos when talking about how North Korea is an unnatural country since so many things are restricted. The dictators of North Korea control many things: the internet, speech, clothing, and thoughts (Park). At the summit, Park was addressing world leaders and the general public. Many audience members who viewed the speech came from countries with fewer restrictions to everyday activities. Park mentioned activities that many people were able to do except North Koreans. By doing this, Park was able to get a sense of empathy from the audience. Freedoms are not given to everyone. When Park escaped North Korea and found refuge in Mongolia, she said something memorable: “We walked across the Gobi Desert following a compass and when it stopped working, we followed the stars to freedom. I felt only the stars are with us” (Park). This line helps the audience put in perspective how limited and alone North Koreans are. North Koreans felt that they could only rely on the stars for freedom and not anyone else. Even when they escaped North Korea and resided in China, they were being pushed away. Park uses pathos to urge the audience to raise awareness and accept North Korean refugees as they find their freedoms.  

Park uses pathos again when she talks about the tragedies her family faced. At 14 years old, Park had to bury her father in secret. She feared that she would be sent back to North Korea if she were to be caught burying her own father (Park). By sharing this situation, Park reached audience members who have families. Facing death at such a young age is a tragedy. Many people have lost a family member, but to lose someone important at such a young age in a terrible situation is something people can’t dream of. Therefore, Park utilizes the importance of family to help push the purpose of her speech. By drawing emotions around family, Park was able to get her audience to realize that there needs to be a change. Park also talks about another emotional incident regarding her mother: “The day I escaped North Korea; I saw my mother raped. The rapist was a Chinese broker. He had targeted me. I was 13 years old. There is a saying in North Korea, ‘Women are weak, but mothers are strong’. My mother allowed herself to be raped in order to protect me” (Park). This line reaches out to families, specifically mothers and daughters. A mother would do anything in order to protect her family, even sacrificing herself. With this incident, Park garners disgust and sorrow from the audience. Disgust at the people who harmed women and sorrow for the mothers subjected to the harmful acts to protect their loved ones. The mistreatment Park’s family faced by the government should not be occurring in the world. Humans should be able to protect their families without fearing the government, who in turn should be the ones who make this a reality. Park utilizes pathos in this section to re-establish the importance of human rights. 

In addition to using pathos, Park gives her audience another way to understand her situation with an allusion. People all around the world are familiar with the story Romeo and Juliet. Park uses Romeo and Juliet to push a point across to her audience: “When I was growing up in North Korea, I never saw anything about love stories between man and woman, no books, no songs, no press, no movies about love stories. There is no Romeo and Juliet, every stories were propagandized to brainwash about the Kim dictators” (Park). By using something that the audience is familiar with, Park connects what she is saying and something the audience would understand. The story of Romeo and Juliet is familiar to many people around the world. In North Korea, every story was made up to fit the agenda of the dictator. North Koreans weren’t allowed to read the same books that students in other countries read. They were only provided with books and songs filled with propaganda. Park uses something recognizable to help the audience relate to the situation. Parks uses an allusion to explain how limited and controlled North Koreans are.

Lastly, the delivery of a speech can help persuade the audience to care about the purpose. Throughout the speech, Park uses a tone that shows her feelings towards her cause. With a passionate and urging tone, Park can connect with her audience. The audience understands her intentions with this speech. The speech was presented with a sense of trust and appreciation. The physical appearance of a speaker is beneficial to pushing a point across. When presenting at the summit, Park wore a traditional hanbok dress. Hanbok holds symbolism to Korean culture: “The sleeves, which are always wide open, symbolize the warmth of Korean society. Meanwhile, the long and loose skirt symbolizes the freedom or independence of the Korean people” (Robbani). Presenting herself in a hanbok shows how Park still embraces her Korean culture and believes in freedom for all Korean people. She believes that all Korean people will one day achieve freedom, and she wants the audience to believe in that as well. Park’s delivery of her speech is impactful to the interpretation and effectiveness of the speech. 

Pathos, allusions, and delivery are effective techniques Park implements in her speech to persuade the audience to care about oppression. Park utilizes pathos by gathering an emotional response to her story about escaping North Korea. She also alludes to Romeo and Juliet to give the audience a better understanding of the situation North Koreans face. Park was able to show the limitation of freedoms North Koreans received with the allusion. The delivery of her speech helped her draw the attention of the audience. The symbolism of her hanbok helps push her purpose of gaining a change for North Koreans. Incorporating these rhetorical techniques allows Park to draw attention to her cause. As the speech garners more attention, Yeonmi Park continues to be a leading voice for those oppressed by their government.