Hard Life of North Korean Defectors

In the past, North Korean defectors were treated like a hero, but now they either lead a harsh life in South Korea or just fall to ‘international refugee’ status. Even though they managed to escape to Korea, life in Korea is usually not as rosy as they expected to be.

As the cold war ended and the number of people fleeing the impoverished North is skyrocketing, the affections and interests South Koreans used to have toward them are now growingly on the wane. And the issue is not any more a domestic problem but an international human rights problem.

The accumulated number of North Korean refugees totaled 8,541 as of June this year. But it is expected that 50,000-100,000 people ran out of the country and live in China now after failing to come to Korea. It is expected that the number will hit 10,000 in the first half of next year.

The situation of North Korean defectors who successfully escaped the regime and relocated in the South is not favorable. According to a survey on 550 North Korean defectors conducted by Seoul National University and Monthly Joongang found out that 66.4 per cent answered they ‘are willing to go to a third country,’ and 70.5 per cent said they “would like to take refuge in the US if given an opportunity.”

Among them, 61.4 per cent do not have a job and if they do, only 16.7 per cent work on a regular basis. 65.7 per cent of those who work regularly or irregularly receive an average monthly salary of less than W1M.

The Korean government still provides basic support, though downsized, for them such as job education and subsidies for settlement, but they get discriminated against in many aspects of life in Korea. For example, when a divorced defector gets married to a Korean citizen, he or she can’t get official recognition of the marriage because of the impossibility to confirm the divorce back in North Korea.

Yoon In-jin, sociologist at Korea University, said “assistance for North Korean defectors should be based not on a make-shift policy but on a consistent long-term policy so as to ensure these people firmly settle down and lead a normal life here.” “These people can be very helpful in that they can play an important role in bringing about social cohesion when and if the two Koreas are unified, so the government should come up with more comprehensive and extensive assistant policies to help them.”