Seoul , South Korea ( CNN ) -- Cho Myung-chul remembers what it was like to vote in North Korea . `` They have a little piece of paper and a pencil right next to it . If you do n't like the candidate you can pick up the pencil and cross the name off , but the person who picks up the pencil will die . There is always someone watching outside and of course there is only one candidate . '' The idea of a free election seemed impossible to Cho Myung-chul before he defected . But he is now hoping to become the first North Korean in the South Korean parliament . South Koreans head to polls on Wednesday . He stands a fair chance of being elected , number four of 46 proportional representative candidates for the ruling Saenuri party . He asks CNN , `` Can you imagine the shock of all my former colleagues and school friends in North Korea if I get a place in the National Assembly ? '' Cho was a professor in North Korea and was among the elite , meaning his life was far more bearable than others . He says that South Koreans do n't really know how dire life can be for many in the North and how bad the human rights situation is . `` They understand in an abstract sense that something is not right , but they do n't have actual knowledge of life there . '' That is one reason he has entered politics , to help the conservative party form a better policy when dealing with Pyongyang . Cho describes the difficulties he found when first trying to assimilate into South Korean life . He found it very difficult to cope , saying , `` Living here I had to re-learn everything from the beginning . There was only one thing we had in common , the language and other than that , the gap was huge . '' The Korean peninsula was split in 1953 when an armistice was signed after a bloody war . The two sides have never signed a peace agreement . South Korea has since grown to become Asia 's fourth largest economy whereas North Korea struggles to feed its own people , asking the international community for food and monetary aid . Cho acknowledges many defectors find it hard to adapt and says the government has to do more to help . `` There are around 23,000 North Korean defectors here now . These people are the pioneers of unification , they have to be able to settle here and succeed . If you ca n't reunify with this small group of people , you have no chance with 23 million people in North Korea . '' Cho will find out Wednesday if his parliamentary election bid is successful as South Koreans head to the polls .
Cho Myung - chul wants to become first North Korean in South Korean government . Cho is from the North and wants to help the South form a better Pyongyang policy . South Koreans head to the polls on Thursday for parliamentary elections .