For more than 15 years, North Korean defectors have lived among the Korean people, trying to earn themselves a place in society. The history of their migration, which started in the early and mid-1990s, is not only one of adaptation, but also of cooperation with local communities.

The government, through housing and employment support, actively pursues social policies designed to aid their seamless integration into society. Utilizing local welfare and community centers, it also provides education, counselling and a host of other services targeting immigration.

While such efforts have succeeded in increasing the number of defectors playing their part as members of local communities, social segregation and disharmony between defectors and locals persist in many places. Prejudice and discrimination still dominate the scene.

Prejudices Remain in Residential Areas

Around 1000 defectors live in Nonhyun-dong, Namdong-gu, one administrative district of Incheon. What started out as a small number of North Koreans moving into the area in 2000 has turned into an enclave.

The change in demographics has caused conflict within the community.

“I don’t understand why the people from the North don’t separate their waste for recycling,” one long term South Korean resident of the area, Mr. Kim, told The Daily NK. “It doesn’t look good for the community. And they don’t really listen to you. Loud singing at night is quite a severe problem.”

People’s perceptions of the defectors are not always bright. Unable to land steady jobs in many cases, most of them earn a living working part-time in restaurants or doing casual labor on construction sites.

Mr. Sohn, aged 44, said, “Every night I see my next door neighbor, who I know is a defector, leaving her house wearing heavy make-up. What are we supposed to think when confronted with such a sight?”

A social worker whose work involves providing support for defectors, said, “What is a rarity among defectors tends to become exaggerated as the norm, worsening peoples’ perceptions.”

That said, such incidents occur rather frequently in public housing complexes, where, because their houses are provided by the government, defectors often reside.

In one such area of Incheon, local residents pledged to block any defectors from moving into the neighborhood, citing that an infusion of defectors into their domain would likely cause friction and lower neighborhood housing prices.

Park Kyung Nam of Incheon’s Samsan Social Welfare Center, said, “For the last 10 years, problems have been mounting, while changes in perception have yet to come.”

Park added, “The defectors’ enclaves are often in public apartment complexes, where there are also a lot of cash-strapped South Korean residents. They tend to have a beef with the North Koreans because they view them as the beneficiaries of excessive government support. Just the mere fact that someone is a defector often results in bad relations.”

Byun Gwang Young, President of Alliance for Sharing Hope, a non-governmental organization that provides support North Korean defectors, cites “a lack of mutual understanding” as the main reason for such problems.

“Many of the problems arise because of misunderstandings over differences in environment and culture. Not recycling one’s own waste and singing loudly at night are incidents that occur only rarely, yet they are perceived to be widespread among the defectors. This is the problem,” he said.

“The establishment of a channel of communication where both groups can share opinions and discuss sensitive matters is urgently needed,” he added. He also stressed the importance of the defectors themselves making an effort to actively participate in community gatherings and local organizations to rid themselves of stigma.

Labelled a North Korean Defector: Prize or Stigma?

Some experts on the matter say that another reason why the defectors struggle to adapt to their local communities is because, once labelled a North Korean defector, social barriers just gets higher.

Kwon Sung Chul, a team leader at Banghwa-6 Social Welfare Center in Seoul, said, “Being labelled a North Korean defector, in some ways, hinders social adaptation. Although 10 years have passed since the first defectors settled in, our society’s understanding and recognition of them has a long way to go. While greater interest in multicultural households has started a trend in trying to understand other cultures, North Korean culture has been the exception. They are in a ‘gray zone’, which is neither a completely different culture, nor a completely Korean one.”

He added, “By current standards, it actually benefits a defector to hide his or her true identity and pretend to be an ethnic Korean from China if he or she intends to get a job.”

Community-level ‘Mutual Understanding Programs’ a Must

In other words, in order for defectors to live freely among the local populace, a long-term, systematic plan must be put in place.

So far, the government has focused on vocational training and support programs. It has not focused on educating and persuading the locals with whom the defectors are required to live.

Most of the community-sponsored programs also do not offer any services that go beyond the basic integration phase. There are virtually no programs that allow the defectors to specifically interact with the locals.

Experts on the matter also point out a general lack of order in dealing with the issue. Projects lack continuity, with budgets fluctuating every year, and continuation mostly follows the fate of whoever is in charge of that project more than anything else.

An employee of the Seobu Hana Center in Seoul explained, “In 2010, our projects were limited to provincial programs, such as ‘Sharing North Korean Food’ and ‘Exhibition of North Korean Photographs’. Even such provincial programs are decreasing in number, due to worsening perceptions of the North since the sinking of the Cheonan.

“The Hana Center must play a pivotal role in creating long-term societal integration programs. It is all the more important if we look towards the prospects for reunification.”

“While it is most desirable that locals take the initiative to integrate the community, since this is hard to come by, continuous support to local welfare centers and social organizations must be given.”

Yun Yeo Sang, Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, said, “What is most effective is a ‘Mutual Understanding Program’ for the locals. As most problems between the locals and the defectors are caused by slight misunderstandings, setting up an environment for them to regularly interact with each other can solve most of them.”

Citing Germany as an example, he added, “West and East Germans were able to tear down the social barriers between them by participating in collaborative events, such as cultural lectures and morning soccer programs. This is only possible when the smallest units of society take the initiative.”

“Communication must start from within the small groups; those inside schools and local districts, as well as those such as mothers’ groups and non-governmental organizations. Government spending must also be channelled to such basic units of society.”