Kenneth Bae

Kenneth Bae (born Bae Jun-ho; born August 1, 1968) is a South Korean-born American Evangelical Christian missionary.

Bae was born in South Korea in 1968.

He moved to the United States at age 16 with his family in 1985, first settling in San Jose, California then later relocating to Torrance, California, in the Los Angeles district.

Bae (as Jun Ho Bae) graduated from West High School in Torrance in 1988, when he was 20 years old.

He studied at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon for two years, majoring in psychology and minoring in Chinese in preparation for possible ministerial work in China.

Bae left schooling all together for a time in order to support his family.

Later, he studied at the San Francisco Bible College, graduating in 1996, as well as at Covenant Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master's of Divinity degree in 2002.

Bae met his wife, Lydia, two weeks after starting at the University of Oregon, and got married a year later.

They have two children.

Bae later moved to Dalian, China in 2006, and then to Dandong, China, near neighboring North Korea.

Bae lived in Lynnwood, Washington, in Snohomish County.

Bae has a sister, Terri Chung, who is stated to live in Lynnwood and in Edmonds, which is also in Snohomish County.

In December 2012, human rights activists in Seoul reported that an American had been held in North Korea for a month.

On December 21, 2012, North Korea announced that it had charged an American identified as Bae Jun-ho with "hostile acts against the republic."

Between January 7 and January 10, former UN ambassador Bill Richardson was unable to meet Bae and delivered a letter from Bae's son to North Korean authorities.

North Korean media stated Bae was prosecuted with:

Convicted by North Korea on charges of planning to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment in April 2013.

On April 30, 2013, North Korea's Supreme Court sentenced Bae to 15 years of hard labor.

On May 14, 2013, he was moved to a special prison.

Bae would do eight hours of farm labor a day.

Bae sent hand-written letters to his family claiming that he was going blind and that help was needed.

On July 3, 2013, an interview with Bae was released, in which he spoke of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver, and a back problem.

When asked if prison life was bearable, he replied: "Yes, people here are very considerate. But my health is not in the best condition, so there are some difficulties. But, everyone here is considerate and generous, and we have doctors here, so I'm getting regular check-ups."

A Swedish ambassador met with Bae in a hospital in August 2013; his sister reported that he was moved from the camp because of deteriorating health and after losing more than 50 lb.

Bae's mother, Myunghee Bae, arrived in North Korea on October 11 to visit her son for five days.

She was allowed three visits, totaling six hours.

During the 2013 Korean crisis, North Korea stated that the reason the country did not invite US officials to Pyongyang for Bae's release is that he is not a "political bargaining chip."

On July 3, 2013, an interview with Bae was released, in which he begged for forgiveness from his captors and for the United States' help.

Despite getting a weekly update from the State Department, Kenneth's family insisted that the United States government wasn't doing a good enough job bringing him back.

It was confirmed later in July that Jimmy Carter had no plans to visit North Korea regarding Bae.

On August 13, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf stated that the United States was "willing to consider a number of different options to secure his release."

On August 27, the United States announced that its North Korean human rights envoy, Robert R. King, would travel to Pyongyang and ask for the government to pardon Bae, but three days later North Korea rescinded its invitation.

Bae was released on November 8, 2014, along with fellow American Matthew Todd Miller.

As of January 2014, Bae is the father of two children in Arizona and of another child in Hawaii, ages 17, 22 and 23.

Bae also has at least one stepdaughter.

Working with YWAM's University of the Nations, Bae lived in China with his wife and his step-daughter for seven years.

He created a tourism company called "Nations Tour" for North Korean special economic zone visits that were stated to be Christian missionary trips.

In February 2014, Bae left the hospital and returned to the work camp.

On the day he was sentenced, the United States called for the immediate release of Kenneth Bae on humanitarian grounds.

In 2016, he founded the NGO named NGI - Nehemiah Global Initiative, whose goals consist of remembering, rescuing, and recovering North Korean refugees and rebuilding their lives in China and South Korea.