Mike Kim

Mike Kim is an author, consultant, NGO founder, and North Korea specialist based in Washington DC. He is the author of the Wall Street Journal featured book "Escaping North Korea", a current events memoir published in 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield, about his experiences at the China-North Korea border helping North Koreans. On New Year's Day 2003, Mike gave up his financial planning business in Chicago, Illinois and left for China on a one-way ticket carrying little more than two duffle bags. While living near the North Korean border, he operated undercover as a student of North Korean taekwondo, training under two famous North Korean masters from Pyongyang--eventually receiving a second-degree blackbelt. During his time in China, he learned of the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans fleeing to China through a 6,000-mile modern-day underground railroad in search of food and freedom and he founded Crossing Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees.

Mike frequently appears in the media and it was after his interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that there was interest from Hollywood in turning Escaping North Korea into a motion picture. The book-to-film project is represented by William Morris Endeavor and is currently in development. He lectures to audiences worldwide about his experiences at the China-North Korea border and has now shared his stories of inspiration, courage, and hope on five continents. Mike resides in Washington DC where he is a consultant and term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest work involves applying commercial capabilities to the nonprofit sector and is focused on counter sex trafficking initiatives worldwide and consulting on development in North Korea.