The Rev. Timothy A. Peters, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

humanitarian aid worker living in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, operate
Helping Hands Korea
and is widely regarded as one of the world's most visible advocates for

human rights in North Korea The human rights record of North Korea is often considered to be the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations, the European Union and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of the country's record. Most ...

. 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 Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

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 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

. 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. In 2008, Peters was awarded the

Stefanus Prize The Stefanus Prize is a human rights prize awarded to individuals for their outstanding contributions to defending freedom of religion or belief as defined by the Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. History The Stefanus Priz ...

for his struggle for human rights and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

or belief.

References

External links

Helping Hands Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Tim A. American human rights activists Human rights in North Korea Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Experts on North Korea