To date, there are approximately 28,000
North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. As this figure continues to
grow, it is imperative that South Korea makes every effort to accommodate this
emigre community, asserted speakers at a seminar aimed at devising settlement
strategies for defectors and paving the way for unification of the two Koreas.
Hosted by Korea Hana Foundation with the
support of the Ministry of Unification, the conference opened with the event’s most salient question, posed by Kim Sang Gon of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy.
“How can we fully accommodate North Korea’s population of 25 million upon
reunification if we cannot help the current 28,000 defectors in South
Korea?” he pointed out.
Baek Byung Hee, who works as a counselor
for North Korean defector teenagers, followed by discussing the complicated and harrowing circumstances faced by children born in third countries, namely China, to
North Korean defector-mothers. Children in this category comprise approximately half of the total North Korean defector children living in South Korea currently.
The crux of the problem, Baek explained, is
that the South Korean government does not legally classify these children as North
Korean defectors but instead as members of a “multicultural family,” greatly
curtailing the social benefits for which they would be eligible if categorized
as North Korean defectors originally born in North Korea.
For example, North Korean defectors are eligible for financial support in a host of sectors, including living expenses, housing, and university tuition. On the other hand,
North Korean defector children born in third countries receive, for the most
part, only financial aid for after-school programs and daycare centers.
In other words, North Korean defectors born
in third countries receive significantly less social aid and funding than their
counterparts born in North Korea. Such disparity raises questions
about the fairness of the welfare system for North Korean defectors at large.
“Another factor that makes life in South
Korea much harder for North Korean defector children who were born and grew up
in third countries is that unlike defector children who were born in and grew up
in North Korea, they speak very little Korean,” added Baek, who called for more
bilingual teachers — particularly those who speak Korean and Chinese — in
alternative schools catering to North Korean defector-students.
Choi Eun Hee, another counselor who works with North Korean defectors and a North Korean defector herself, also contributed to the discussion, sharing her personal experiences and the invaluable influence they have on shaping policies to help the community, particularly regarding the need for more counselors to work with defectors.
“I’ve met many North Korean defectors
facing depression here. Each time I tell them, they must live. We risked our
lives to come to South Korea. We have to go on in South Korea no matter how
difficult life may seem,” she said.
To illustrate the constant danger North Korean defectors in China face, Choi showed a clip of escapees from the
North fleeing from Chinese security forces, who were trying to bring them down
with tasers despite the cries for help emanating from the group.
“Such is what North Korean defectors go
through. It took me eight years to come to South Korea. Each day, I am grateful
for the fact that I am alive,” Choi said, hoping to see the day when the Korean Peninsula becomes one again and she can reunite with her mother still in the North.
