Interviews with Ji Seong-ho

If I were to give you a definition of freedom, I think that freedom means being able to do what you want without harming others.

Freedom isn’t something given by the government. I think it is a God-given right, and you are born with this right as a human being. There can be many components when we talk about freedom
and the right to freedom could refer to the right to religion, right to travel, and so forth. Whatever the form, I believe one’s freedom should not be oppressed.

I only had a vague understanding of what freedom meant when I was back in North Korea. I thought about the issue, but never had the context to say that this is a right one is born with.

When I thought about freedom or rights, I thought it was a concept that was given under the great leader. Everything was subordinate to the great leader of North Korea.

But I would think to myself how unfair it was, that a person could be sent to a political prison camp because he said the wrong thing or that someone was publicly executed when they didn’t deserve such severe punishment.
I really asked myself questions like: “What wrong has that individual done to deserve public execution. Is this fair or not?”

Ji Seong-ho is a North Korean defector and freedom activist. Growing up in the midst of North Korea’s great famine in the mid-1990s, he helped support his family by stealing coal and selling it. While doing so, Ji Seong-ho fell off a train and crushed his left hand and foot; portions of his limbs were amputated forcing him to move around on crutches.

In 2006, Ji Seong-ho escaped North Korea with his brother. They crossed into China via the Tumen River where Ji Seong-ho nearly drowned. After crossing over, Ji Seong-ho urged his brother to leave him fearing his disability would get them both captured. With the help of brokers and religious groups, he trekked across China on his crutches and eventually reunited with his brother in South Korea.

Since escaping, Ji Seong-ho has raised awareness about North Korea and encouraged activism to improve his country’s human rights situation. He founded the organization Now, Action, Unity, Human Rights (NAUH) and initiated various projects geared towards helping North Koreans and preparing for the Korean peninsula’s unification. These efforts have included enhancing mutual understanding and social integration between North and South Koreans, broadcasting information to North Korean youth via Radio Free Asia and Far East Broadcasting, and helping defectors escape and resettle in South Korea.