Why Should We Care What it’s Really Like Living in (and Escaping From) North Korea? | with Timothy Cho

North Korean defector and human rights advocate Timothy Cho joins hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso for a deeply personal account of his life in and escape from North Korea. He recounts his childhood poverty, four imprisonments, harrowing escape, and ultimate rescue that finally brought him to freedom. His story reveals North Korea's total information control, systemic persecution, and brutal detention conditions, while also highlighting the power of compassion, civil society, and diplomacy to intervene.

Total information blackout: North Korea remains the only country without internet, cross-border communication, or social media—25 million people completely isolated from the outside world.

Childhood indoctrination and famine: Timothy grew up worshiping the Kim family from infancy. His parents fled the  ...