From North Korean Prisoner to Unification Advocate: Kenneth Bae’s Global 'One Korea' Campaign

Kenneth Bae, a Korean‑American missionary who spent 735 days as a political prisoner in North Korea, has launched an international campaign to promote reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Bae—now leading the New Korea Foundation International—frames his captivity as a call to speak for North Koreans he describes as "voiceless" under the regime.

Background: Arrest, Detention and Release

Bae was arrested in 2012 while leading his 18th "Love DPRK Tour." North Korean authorities accused him of "conspiracy to overthrow the state" and sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor. He was held in a kyohwaso, a North Korean re-education camp, becoming the best-known U.S. citizen detained there since the Korean War. Bae says that a documentary he inadvertently brought on an external hard drive — showing the hardships of ordinary North Koreans — was used as evidence against him.

After 735 days in custody, he was released in 2014 following high-level diplomatic intervention led by then‑U.S. intelligence officials. His release underscored his ties to influential Washington policymakers and set the stage for his post-release advocacy.

From Defender of Defectors to Reunification Strategist

Following his release, Bae founded the Nehemiah Global Initiative in South Korea to help North Korean defectors resettle, access education and, when possible, reunite families. Over eight years NGI provided English instruction and support to roughly 800 young defectors.

In 2022 he rebranded the organization as New Korea Foundation International to reflect a strategic shift: while continuing programs that support defectors, the foundation now prioritizes preparing for reunification and planning post‑unification reconstruction in the North.

"Reunification is not an option; it is a necessity and a mission for our people," Bae says, contrasting his two years of captivity with decades in which most North Koreans have lived without basic freedoms.

The New Korea Unification Campaign

Under the slogan "One State, One Nation, One Future, One Korea," the foundation has launched the New Korea Unification Campaign, a multi‑pronged international effort to build global consensus for a free and democratic unified Korea. The campaign invites supporters to "sign, give and serve." Key components include:

• Signature Campaign & Nehemiah Prayer Pledge: A global petition and prayer movement that has gathered roughly 6,500 pledges from 75 countries to pray for North Koreans and support unification efforts.
• New Korea Gospel Broadcast: A planned U.S.-based AM Christian broadcast intended to reach North Koreans with outside information and messages of hope. Organizers say this private-sector effort aims to complement international broadcasters and to share "letters of hope" inspired by the correspondence Bae received while imprisoned. The foundation is seeking 1,000 donors at $20 per month to fund the project.
• Reunification Reconstruction Fund & Scholarships: Projects to provide refugee relief, support human rights advocacy, and fund scholarships for defectors preparing to participate in a unified Korea.

Why the Next Three Years Matter

Bae warns that the current geopolitical moment is critical. He rejects a permanent "Two States" settlement and argues that allowing such a narrative to solidify would betray the North Korean people. He is urging younger South Koreans to see reunification not as an unsustainable financial burden but as an investment in a combined nation with natural resources and a population that could exceed 80 million.

He is actively appealing to U.S. and international policymakers to support the Unification Campaign and emphasizes a people‑centered, South Korea‑led approach—one that recognizes the North Korean populace as the focus of change rather than the Pyongyang regime.

How to Get Involved

The campaign encourages global citizens to sign the petition, join the prayer pledge, donate to the broadcast and reconstruction funds, or volunteer with affiliated programs. For more information, visit newkoreafi.org.