A North Korean Defector Fights for a New Life in MMA
Image source: Tapology (2025)
Jang Jung-hyuk, a North Korean defector who, after fleeing hunger and abuse, has found a new purpose and identity as a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in South Korea.
Jang endured a difficult childhood in North Korea, leaving his home province of Ryanggang to escape poverty before eventually making his way to South Korea.
In his new life, he discovered MMA and has dedicated himself to the sport, seeing the fighting cage as a place where he can finally compete on his own terms and prove his mettle based on skill and heart alone.
Rather than being defined by his past as a defector, Jang aims to be known simply as a formidable fighter, using his journey as motivation in his pursuit of MMA glory.
His story illustrates the diverse paths defectors take to rebuild their lives and process their past trauma, finding strength and community in unexpected places.
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The North Korean Governor Defector Preparing to Lead His Home Province
North Korean defector Ji Seong-ho is serving as the governor of his native North Hamgyong Province remotely from an office in Seoul. Appointed by the South Korean government, which maintains a "government-in-exile" for the North's five provinces, Ji's role is to draft a blueprint for a future he hopes will one day come.
From a government complex in Seoul, Ji and his team of civil servants are creating plans for the potential reunification of Korea, focusing on how to transition his home province from authoritarian rule to a democratic society.
Ji, who endured a grueling journey to escape North Korea and later became a prominent human rights advocate and lawmaker in the South, envisions an economically vibrant future for the region, including turning its port cities into tourist hubs.
A core part of his vision is establishing a defector-led financial system, including a bank, to empower escapees in the South and enable them to lead reconstruction efforts in the North should the opportunity arise.
This role symbolizes a long-term strategy that looks beyond current tensions, focusing on the practical and human aspects of what a unified Korea might look like on a local level.
Sources:
The Korea Times (Ji Seong-ho's background):
US NGO Ready to Resume Tuberculosis Aid to North Korea
A US-based humanitarian organization, the Eugene Bell Foundation, announced this month that it is prepared to resume providing crucial medical aid for tuberculosis patients in North Korea, regardless of political tensions. The NGO, which suspended its work during the pandemic, is highlighting the urgent need to separate life-saving healthcare from geopolitics.
The foundation, a primary international organization working to treat tuberculosis in the DPRK, stressed that medical aid demands a more sensitive, apolitical approach and that it has worked through past periods of heightened tensions.
North Korea faces a significant public health challenge with an estimated 135,000 cases of tuberculosis, according to the World Health Organization's 2024 report.
From 2008 to 2019, the Eugene Bell Foundation supported a dozen treatment centers and treated over 8,000 patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis before strict COVID-19 border controls forced a halt to their operations.
This move comes as other international bodies, like UNICEF, have also recently delivered vaccines to the country, signaling a slow potential reopening for humanitarian work.
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The Battle for a National Sport: North Korea's UNESCO Bid for Taekwondo Reignites Rivalry
A cultural rivalry has been rekindled as North Korea pursues UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status for its version of taekwondo. The move has put pressure on Seoul to advance its own bid, fearing it could lose the primary cultural claim to taekwondo, which is biw globally recognized as Korea's national sport.
Pyongyang formally submitted its application to UNESCO, with a decision expected by 2026. This has spurred a task force in South Korea to urge its government to accelerate its own long-stalled application.
This is not the first time the two Koreas have sought separate UNESCO recognition for a shared tradition; a similar situation occurred with ssireum, or traditional Korean wrestling, which resulted in an unprecedented joint inscription.
The two Koreas have distinct international federations for the martial art: the South-led World Taekwondo, which is the Olympic style, and the North-tied International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), which emphasizes more traditional martial arts elements.
The rivalry over taekwondo's heritage is a poignant example of the shared, yet deeply divided, culture of the Korean Peninsula.
Sources:
The Korea Herald: (This 2024 article provides background on the joint ssireum listing.)
