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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Prejudices Remain in Residential Areas<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The change in demographics has caused conflict within the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand why the people from the North don\u2019t separate their waste for recycling,\u201d one long term South Korean resident of the area, Mr. Kim, told The Daily NK. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look good for the community. And they don\u2019t really listen to you. Loud singing at night is quite a severe problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
People\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Mr. Sohn, aged 44, said, \u201cEvery 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?\u201d<\/p>\n
A social worker whose work involves providing support for defectors, said, \u201cWhat is a rarity among defectors tends to become exaggerated as the norm, worsening peoples\u2019 perceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, such incidents occur rather frequently in public housing complexes, where, because their houses are provided by the government, defectors often reside.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Park Kyung Nam of Incheon\u2019s Samsan Social Welfare Center, said, \u201cFor the last 10 years, problems have been mounting, while changes in perception have yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Park added, \u201cThe defectors\u2019 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.\u201d <\/p>\n
Byun Gwang Young, President of Alliance for Sharing Hope, a non-governmental organization that provides support North Korean defectors, cites \u201ca lack of mutual understanding\u201d as the main reason for such problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of the problems arise because of misunderstandings over differences in environment and culture. Not recycling one\u2019s 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe establishment of a channel of communication where both groups can share opinions and discuss sensitive matters is urgently needed,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Labelled a North Korean Defector: Prize or Stigma?<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Kwon Sung Chul, a team leader at Banghwa-6 Social Welfare Center in Seoul, said, \u201cBeing labelled a North Korean defector, in some ways, hinders social adaptation. Although 10 years have passed since the first defectors settled in, our society\u2019s 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 \u2018gray zone\u2019, which is neither a completely different culture, nor a completely Korean one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cBy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community-level \u2018Mutual Understanding Programs\u2019 a Must<\/b><\/p>\n
In other words, in order for defectors to live freely among the local populace, a long-term, systematic plan must be put in place.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
An employee of the Seobu Hana Center in Seoul explained, \u201cIn 2010, our projects were limited to provincial programs, such as \u2018Sharing North Korean Food\u2019 and ‘Exhibition of North Korean Photographs\u2019. Even such provincial programs are decreasing in number, due to worsening perceptions of the North since the sinking of the Cheonan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yun Yeo Sang, Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, said, \u201cWhat is most effective is a \u2018Mutual Understanding Program\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Citing Germany as an example, he added, \u201cWest 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunication must start from within the small groups; those inside schools and local districts, as well as those such as mothers\u2019 groups and non-governmental organizations. Government spending must also be channelled to such basic units of society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n