Tim A. Peters
Encyclopedia
The Rev. Timothy A. Peters, an American
humanitarian aid worker living in Seoul
, South Korea
, operates Helping Hands Korea and is widely regarded as one of the world's most visible advocates for human rights in North Korea
.
Peters originally came to Korea in 1975 and soon became an opponent of South Korea's military dictatorship
. The military regime of President Chun Doo-hwan
later expelled him from South Korea for handing out anti-government leaflets. He returned to South Korea in the late 1980s. Later, when North Korea's disfavored classes were struck by a famine
that ultimately killed an estimated 2.5 million people, Peters established the Ton a Month Club to help feed the North Korean people. He founded Helping Hands Korea in 1996, and later became an activist in the "underground railroad," helping North Korean refugees to escape to South Korea or other countries via China. Peters claims to have personally participated in some of these clandestine missions inside China.
Peters was featured in the CNN documentary "Undercover in the Secret State" in 2005. He testified about human rights conditions facing North Korean refugees before the U.S. Congress in 2005, and was featured in a lengthy Time Asia article in 2006. His work has also been featured in numerous newspaper articles. By early 2006, Peters had become an outspoken critic of the UNHCR. Peters' public activism played a role in the U.S. decision to admit the first six North Korean refugees into the United States in May 2006.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
humanitarian aid worker living in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, operates Helping Hands Korea and is widely regarded as one of the world's most visible advocates for human rights in North Korea
Human rights in North Korea
The human rights record of North Korea is extremely hard to fully assess due to the secretive and closed nature of the country. The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country and strictly monitors their activities when they do...
.
Peters originally came to Korea in 1975 and soon became an opponent of South Korea's military dictatorship
Fourth Republic of South Korea
The Fourth Republic was the government of South Korea between 1972 and 1981, regulated by the Yushin Constitution adopted in October 1972 and confirmed in a referendum on 21 November 1972. From 1972 to 1979, power was monopolized by Park Chung Hee and his Democratic Republican Party under the...
. The military regime of President Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...
later expelled him from South Korea for handing out anti-government leaflets. He returned to South Korea in the late 1980s. Later, when North Korea's disfavored classes were struck by a famine
North Korean famine
'The North Korean famine was a famine in North Korea which began in the early 1990s...
that ultimately killed an estimated 2.5 million people, Peters established the Ton a Month Club to help feed the North Korean people. He founded Helping Hands Korea in 1996, and later became an activist in the "underground railroad," helping North Korean refugees to escape to South Korea or other countries via China. Peters claims to have personally participated in some of these clandestine missions inside China.
Peters was featured in the CNN documentary "Undercover in the Secret State" in 2005. He testified about human rights conditions facing North Korean refugees before the U.S. Congress in 2005, and was featured in a lengthy Time Asia article in 2006. His work has also been featured in numerous newspaper articles. By early 2006, Peters had become an outspoken critic of the UNHCR. Peters' public activism played a role in the U.S. decision to admit the first six North Korean refugees into the United States in May 2006.