Kang Chol-hwan spent ten years of his childhood imprisoned in the Yodok concentration camp due to suspicions that his grandfather was an agent for Japan. After he was released, Kang fled to China and eventually made his way to South Korea where he started the North Korea Strategy Center. A non-profit organization aimed at training North Korean defectors for leadership roles after unification. Kang also authored a book about his experiences as a political prisoner titled The Aquariums of Pyongyang and has spoken about human rights abuses in North Korea often.