Ji Seong-ho is a North Korean defector who grew up during the country’s grueling famine in the 1990s. In order to survive, Ji would exchange stolen coal for food on the black market. While taking coal from a train car in 1996, a malnourished Ji lost consciousness and fell onto the tracks, losing his left hand and foot when a train ran over him. After grueling amputation surgery, Ji was left to fend for himself. In 2006, he escaped to South Korea. In 2011, Ji founded Now Action and Unity for Human Rights, an organization that broadcasts information into North Korea and facilitates the resettlement of defectors in South Korea. In 2020, Ji was elected as a member of the National Assembly.
