Author, activist and world-renowned speaker, Chong Kim has been working to end sexual exploitation
and human trafficking for nearly two decades. Focusing much of her time on activism and human rights,
her dedication and passionate expertise is fueled by her lived experience as a survivor of child rape and
sexual exploitation.
Chong Kim settled in Oklahoma City by way of Pyeongtaek, South Korea when she was an infant. From
childhood, she battled numerous life hardships, including being born with a disability, bullied
throughout school and being a victim of sexual child abuse. The trauma of her childhood forced her into
a lot of new beginnings including being ensnared by deception into a sex trade by the age of 19. Being
equipped with life’s challenges paired with innate instincts afforded Kim lessons of survival that in the
end, kept her alive. Through healing and gaining confidence, her ability to share her story helped pave
the way for her to be recognized as one of the most compelling voices as a survivor.
Having an edge, Chong Kim began working alongside law enforcement to offer a ground level
perspective into sex trafficking. Her intelligence became the touchstone of catching predators,
essentially tilting the multi-layered corruption toward justice. Her dedication to the full spectrum of
human rights led to public speaking appearances for colleges and universities, Human Trafficking
Taskforces, and rescue centers, locally and abroad. She has appeared on several major daytime talk
shows and has been decorated with many honors throughout the United States.
Kim’s liberation swelled to empowerment as she began to write her experiences into art. She began
penning several poems and articles on social injustice. She followed with her first movie production
based loosely on her experience, Eden, which was released in select theaters in 2012. Eden moved into
streaming platforms from 2013 to date, including YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime. In 2017, she
wrote and published her memoir Broken Silence. She has currently completed her scripted TV series,
Every 40 Seconds that is soon to be released.
Today, Chong Kim’s reach encompasses an international turn toward spreading awareness. She is
working to solidify her foundation Velvet Brick and innovations to end social injustice, systemic racism
and child abductions.
“No matter what happened yesterday, every day is like a new audition. When we audition, we put our
best face on. ‘Make every moment your audition,’” Chong Kim, from her poem, “Stage It.”