Dear Friend,

We are pleased to share with you that GumHyok Kim will address the virtual ICAS Winter Symposium Veritas 2025 with a particular emphasis on "What's Happening In Koreas?" on February 13, 2025, Washington DC.

GumHyok (GH) was born in Pyongyang, North Korea (NK) in 1991. He grew up as a part of NK's elite class and entered Kim Il Sung University. In 2010, GH went to study in Beijing and had a life changing experience. The discussions with students from western countries and the information from the internet enabled him to realize the horrific truth of NK that had been kept hidden from him: the political prison camps, deaths from starvation, public executions, and people risking their lives to escape. He felt a deep sense of betrayal and was furious that all the education and histories he had been taught were lies. GH became determined to share with other NK people this newfound knowledge, and started dangerous discussions about human rights and democracy with other NK friends studying in Beijing. The purpose was to change NK to a normal state. But his group was discovered by the NK authorities and he had to flee in 2012 from Beijing to South Korea (SK) to avoid arrest. After becoming a SK citizen, GH graduated Korea University majoring in Political Science and International Relations.

Currently, GH is a TV news panelist, “Radio Free Asia” analyst, NK human rights activist, and a Youtube Influencer at “Seoul Pyongyang Couple”. He gave an NK human rights speech in the UN Security Council in 2024 and was a main speaker emphasizing the freedom of speech in One Young World in 2018.

His career continued as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in SK in 2023. In 2023 and 2024, GH worked as a Member of the Unification Future Planning Committee at the Ministry of Unification. He joined the support team as an analyst in the 20th Presidential Committee in 2022.

Thank you.