Kang Chol-hwan

Kang Chol-hwan
Kang in 2014.
Born	(1968-09-18) 18 September 1968 (age 55) Pyongyang, North Korea
Awards	Democracy Award (United States government - National Endowment for Democracy)
Korean name
Hangul	강철환
Hanja	姜哲煥
Revised Romanization	Gang Cheol-hwan
McCune–Reischauer	Kang Ch'ŏl-hwan

Kang Chol-hwan (Korean: 강철환; pronounced [ka̠ŋ tɕʰʌ̹l.βʷa̠n]; born 18 September 1968) is a North Korean defector, author, and the founder and president of the North Korea Strategy Center.

As a child, he was imprisoned in the Yodok concentration camp for 10 years. After his release he fled the country, first to China and eventually to South Korea. He is the author, with Pierre Rigoulot, of The Aquariums of Pyongyang and worked as a staff writer specialized in North Korean affairs for The Chosun Ilbo.