Timothy Cho shows his pocket-sized Christian bible during a forum at the Asian Theological Seminary on Monday, Sept. 7. Photo by Ryan Franco Verano, ABS-CBN News Digital intern
After escaping North Korea twice, Timothy Cho wanted to detach himself from every piece of the place that he once called home.
He tried to hide his entire identity as it reminded him of the violence and torture he endured during the years of escape attempts.
“I wanted to forget about [the] Korean language. I wanted to forget my past history. I didn’t want to tell people I was born in North Korea,” Cho told ABS-CBN News.
Cho became homeless when his school teacher parents fled North Korea. He spent his childhood begging for food and sleeping on the streets to survive.
Cho was 17 when he first escaped North Korea, but failed when China repatriated him. He faced imprisonment four times, which he described as a traumatic experience.
“I didn't think I was able to survive. In prison, I cried every night,” Cho said. “If I lived in North Korea, there [would] also [be] no hope. So I was conflicting myself.”
It was the second attempt that ultimately led him to leave his hometown after he was deported to the Philippines and sent to South Korea to determine which country the escapees would seek legal protection.
Cho was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in 2008. He is now a British citizen.
“I think they were quite shocked. I showed them my scars. So I have a number of scars on my head. They [UK officials] just couldn't raise any more questions,” he said. “The scars sometimes show many words.”
According to Human Rights Watch, North Korea remains one of the most repressive countries in the world that “systematically denies all basic liberties,” including freedom of expression and religion.
Cho said that he did not even know who or what God is after he “worshipped the Kim family for 17 years.”
EMBRACING HIS ROOTS
Now, a human rights advocate for North Koreans, Cho recalled how he came to recognize his identity through faith.
Cho cited his encounter with a Christian organization that invited him to share his testimony as a North Korean escapee.
He said he attended a church service in the UK where he watched a video of a young North Korean defector saying that if he could speak English, he would “hold a microphone, go all around the world, [and] tell the world what was happening in my country.”
Cho said it later made him realize his privilege and the importance of his voice to speak up for his fellowmen. “Gosh, [those] few minutes hit me because I was learning English.”
“I asked God. Is this what you want me to do? What should I do? Or should I do the thing I can do?” During this time, Cho was studying dentistry at a UK university.
“So then I was thinking, I need to study something else, [I asked myself] why I was victimized, why I was born into this country [and] why millions of North Koreans were victimized. So I changed [my program] to study politics. I converted into politics,” Cho added.
He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Politics from the University of Salford and his master’s degree in International Relations and Security from the University of Liverpool.
NEW PURPOSE
Cho is now in his late 30s and currently serves as a secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea.
He also works as Open Doors UK spokesperson for North Korea, the same Christian organization that invited him to share his testimony.
Cho said he holds forums at various universities every year to continue speaking on behalf of North Koreans.
“There are young people in North Korea [who] are killed because they try to learn, listen to outside news, and because they try to learn who Jesus and God is. They are being killed,” said Cho.
“You have to speak out against them [North Korean]. Even what's happening. In your own country,” he added.
For Cho, the fight for human rights has become an extension of his faith and his voice that continuously echoes the struggles of his fellow North Koreans.
“I still don't know how I did it. The only way I can explain, God was working with me,” Cho said.
“I can raise my voice. I also see many [of] those, people who stand with me… I don’t have a big house. Not a lot of money, [but] I have a voice.”