Navigating Dehumanization: A Study of Yeonmi Park’s In Order to Live, A North Korean Journey to Freedom and Ting Xing Ye’s My Name is Number 4: A True Story

Dehumanization in the form of wars and ostracisation has been present since time immemorial as a defensive mechanism to an emergency need alongside man’s coexistence. However, dehumanization as a normative practice began with the world wars and was subjected to totalitarian whims. Totalitarians navigate their power by repressing social and emotional connections between people and cultivating enmity through intimidation. This paper focuses on how routinized dehumanization occurs by nullifying humanity and subjectivity through eroding social trust in an autocracy. The article draws upon human rights methodologies and psychological insights to explain human degradation with a specific focus on the life narratives of North Korean defector Yeonmi Park’s In Order to Live, A North Korean Journey to Freedom, and Ting Xing Ye’s My Name is Number 4: A True Story