North Korean defector Park Yeon-mi has talked about her upbringing under the harsh North Korean government. Her remark regarding movies highlights the limited entertainment options that citizens have inside the nation's boundaries as a result of censorship and restricted access to international media.

Consider yourself in a desert with only a tiny oasis, where each drop of water is valuable but not enough to quench your thirst. Access to entertainment and information from sources outside of North Korea's strictly regulated environment can be as limited for residents as that fabled oasis. Park Yeon-mi's statement emphasizes the creative ways people used illegally imported pirated films to satisfy their curiosity and stay in touch with the outside world.

These films provided windows into other cultures, ways of life, and political structures outside of North Korea's closed society in addition to being a means of escape. They subtly questioned people's conceptions of their own reality by drawing a comparison between life inside and outside the regime.

Park Yeon-mi's remark is a component of her larger discussion on freedom, access to information, and the human need to connect with others. Her tales have struck a chord with many because they show how far people will go to obtain entertainment and knowledge when those things are restricted by the government.