She Escaped North Korea 3 Times. Half of Her Family Didn’t Survive | Grace Jo

American Thought Leaders · Aug 14, 2026 · 38m

Grace Jo was born in North Korea and nearly starved to death as a child during the country’s devastating famine in the 1990s.

Her father crossed into China in search of food for his family, only to be tortured and die after returning to North Korea. Her grandmother and two younger brothers died of starvation. And her oldest sister disappeared while searching for food. The family suspects she became a victim of human trafficking in China.

Jo still remembers that her grandmother’s dying wish was to eat a baked potato. It was a wish the family could not fulfill.

At six years old, Jo first…