Cheol "Charles" Ryu escaped twice from North Korea as a teenager. The first time he was caught in China and sent back to North Korea to a defector's detention camp where he was forced to do hard manual labor for nine months, followed by work in a coal mine for another year. On his second escape attempt he successfully arrived at an international refugee camp and received refugee status from the UN, resettling in the United States, where he learned to code and found work as a software engineer. He dedicates his time to advocating for the North Korean people by sharing his stories and the stories of other defectors through his YouTube channel and social media platforms. Charles is also the founder of the Freedom Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit supporting North Korean refugees.

Charles' story has been featured in news media worldwide including The Daily Mail, The Mirror, South China Morning Post, PBS, A Plus, and John Stossel.