Jeong-cheol joined Freedom Speakers International (FSI) in 2015 as an English language student. He was an office assistant with FSI during 2018. After avoiding identifying himself as a North Korean refugee, he began engaging in public speaking, then joined FSI’s North Korean Refugee Keynote Speaker’s Network in 2020 when it was formed. In 2021, he was the winner of FSI’s 14th English Speech Contest.

Jeong-Cheol was born in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, North Korea in 1992. He escaped from North Korea in 2006 and arrived in South Korea in 2007. In 2019, he graduated from Sogang University in Seoul with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He lectures about peace and unification of Korea and has been a producer with a multimedia company as well as a reporter.