Great escape from North Korea to a new life in Denton

Escaping a dictatorial regime and enduring torture aren’t things that you would usually associate with a political candidate in the UK, but then again, Timothy Cho isn’t your usual candidate.

Tim, 33, now of Denton, risked his life to escape from North Korea for a better life in England.

After settling in the country and studying for two degrees, he now wants to give back to his community by standing as a candidate for election.

Tim knows the value of a vote, having lived in a society where citizens have very little freedom.

He explained: “[In North Korea] There is a complete information blockade. Their eyes are closed, their ears are blocked and their movement is completely restricted.

“When you live in North Korea you need a travel document and permission from the authorities to travel to another location.

“They don’t even know what a passport is living in NK.”

Now happily settled in Tameside with a young family, Tim says he’s incredibly grateful to have an opportunity to take part in a democracy, but it’s a huge change from how he grew up.

“I ended up living on my own after my parents escaped when I was still a young boy,” he said.

“I grew up without a parent’s love. I didn’t know how to express and react to the feeling of love.

“You grow up with parents encouraging you to do something and that love helps you recognise who you are. To be honest, I didn’t know who I was.

“I remember the last time I saw my mother, she was on a train and waving at me. I never thought that would be the last time.

“After nine years I saw my father again and I didn’t even know it was him standing in front of me. Even if I knew he was my father I didn’t know to express how I felt. Living without parents and growing up without them, I just survived.”

After the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, North Korea turned to isolationism, with more than 3.5million people suffering from starvation.

Thirteen years ago, Tim began his journey to democracy, escaping North Korea. Most escapees flee over the border into China, before moving onto an East Asian country and then onto a democracy.

However, during his first attempted escape, he was arrested and imprisoned four times in China and North Korea where he was severely tortured.

Next time, he escaped successfully, and followed a similar route to his compatriots, before settling in the UK. Now, he’s one of an estimated 1,000 North Koreans living here.

He said: “Only 35,000 North Korean escapees have managed to escape to democracy. I’m grateful to the people of the United Kingdom and the government.

“The journey is very tough and dangerous because we cannot cross the border directly because they have over two million land mines.

“But there are no guarantees and many people are being killed or arrested by the Chinese government who send them back to North Korea.

“My journey was the same, I escaped twice and during that period I was imprisoned four times in China and North Korea. It was horrific what I witnessed in front of my eyes.

“I have torture scars on my body. 

“North Korea is a very dark place.”

Since moving to the UK, Tim has participated in education, gaining two degrees - including one in politics.

“In the past 13 years living in the UK I am so grateful and proud to say that I discovered who I am and what I love and care about,” he said..

“Democratic constitution of values, freedom of faith and expression of speech and opportunity.

“I learned English, I went to school, college and university.

“I studied two political degrees at Salford University and Liverpool University.

“I couldn’t hide the feeling when I was getting my degrees on that day, how proud I was of myself and I was in tears because if my parents were there and saw that moment they would’ve said how proud they were.”

Tim says he loves his new life in the UK and he and his young family have settled well in the Denton area, saying that his neighbours have been very welcoming.

After studying politics at university, he turned to local politics to get involved.

Timothy stood as the Conservative candidate for Denton South in the 2021 Local Elections and received 689 votes, behind Labour’s George Newton who recorded 1,707 votes.

Of the experience, Tim said: “The feeling of standing in a democratic election was a humbling experience.

“Regardless if I was elected or not, standing in this election as someone who came from my background and grew up without parents and never knew who he was because of the brainwashing, indoctrination and education he was forced to learn, it was a hugely humbling experience and privileged opportunity. I would stand for this ballot paper with all my life.”

As well as his interest in local politics, Tim is the Inquiry Clerk to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea and often speaks around the world on the subject.

Recently, he spent time in Denmark and the Faroe Islands, talking to parliament, universities and churches about his experiences and the fight for democracy. It’s easy to understand why democracy is so important to Tim and he says we have to continue to fight for it. 

He said: “We need to wake up, particularly the younger generations. Our freedom is something we have to continue to fight for.”