“One of the ways the North Korea regime has kept power is by keeping it...” — Barbara Demick Quote

“One of the ways the North Korea regime has kept power is by keeping its people ignorant of the living standards in the outside world. That's the underlying lie that supports the regime - not that their country is 'normal' but that they are better off.”

“In 1991, few North Koreans had ever used a telephone. You had to go to a post office to make a phone call.”

“North Korea is not an undeveloped country; it is a country that has fallen out of the developed world.”

“I always think that you're better off learning your lessons in the dark, so that when the light turns on and people can see you, you're prepped.”

“When you are poor, you'll have to think of ways to be better off.”

“Lots of hurtful secrets are better off kept. The problem is that people find it so hard to keep them.”