By Greg Petty
August 2008
I had the good fortune of meeting Augustus Cho at a business function in Cary. Before long we were holding up a wall at the side of the room discussing politics, both state and national. Although I could tell immediately that we had different ideologies, there were many common sense things we agreed upon. We decided to meet again to discuss his candidacy to represent the Republicans in the 4th District against the popular incumbent David Price.
Born in Seoul, Korea in 1958 Augustus was, in his words, "fortunate enough" to immigrate to America in 1968. His mother came to America in 1966 and immediately began the paperwork necessary to bring him to the U.S. Both of them had to be sponsored by an American family who promised to financially care for them if they were not successful. His mother's sponsor provided that bridge for them.
Within five weeks of arriving in Washington D.C., Augustus was enrolled in Linton Hall Military School in Virginia. It was a formative experience for Augustus. As he puts it, "I was given the privilege of getting the militarized version of the American experience. I learned about patriotism, loyalty and a lot of discipline… Of course then I thought it was hell... I still hold the record for running away the most times, 7 times I believe!"
In 1973 his family moved to Durham and then to Oak Park in Raleigh in 1974. Augustus attended Sanderson High School. He matriculated to UNC-Chapel Hill and obtained a degree in Political Science with a concentration in Economics.
The next major step in guiding his life would take place when Augustus answered a call to serve the Christian church. "I always felt I had a calling but I put it off… I thought if I applied [to the prestigious Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia] and I got accepted, I would go. I figured I would either get the degree or die trying! You had to learn to read Hebrew and Greek." (Add these languages to the English and Korean that he can speak.) He received his Master of Divinity degree from Westminster in 1990. Up until 1996 Augustus was active in the Presbyterian church including a stint as a pastor of a church in New York City.
The other passion of his life is Tae Kwon Do. He began the sport as a young man and worked his way thru all the belts to become a Black Belt… the sports highest designation. Augustus subsequently opened his own school in Wilmington, Delaware and has written two books about the martial art, Dedicated to Discipline: Augustus Cho's Tae Kwon Do and Augustus Cho's Intellectual Jock. Both books are in use by his students. When asked what Tae Kwon Do means to him, Augustus stated, "It is all about disciplining oneself, it is not about fighting but about restraining oneself in certain circumstances. It is really more of a mental training. In the process you develop a lot of self-confidence and you develop as a full person."
Last year he was encouraged to run as a Republican for the right to face David Price for the 4th Congressional District seat. I asked him what factors figured into his decision to run for Congress. "The number one consideration was that I think the U.S. is the greatest country in the world… The other factor is that I do believe in American citizens getting involved in the political process… the U.S. has been very, very good to me. I am an immigrant and I want to give something back."
Unfortunately, Augustus lost his campaign to be the Republican nominee but has vowed to remain committed to his activities in Chapel Hill. "As for me, I am going back to my anonymity… and give it some thought about what I went through and perhaps write about it as part of my biography. I will continue my participation on several boards in Chapel Hill. I don't think you can say Augustus Cho is dead yet!"
