{"id":44593,"date":"2020-04-28T12:07:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T03:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=44593"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:21:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:21:55","slug":"special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\/","title":{"rendered":"Special program helps defectors get behind the wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kim Ji-soon, whose name was changed at her request, is a North Korean defector in her 40s who resides in the Gwanak district of Seoul. She had recently completed her program at the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees in Hanawon when a call from a welfare worker at her local Hana Center left her feeling overcome with emotion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Hanawon, Kim had passed the written examination section in her mock test for a driver\u2019s license. But she was at a loss about how she would ever complete the technical or practical sections of the test given that drivers\u2019 training course fees could cost up to KRW 1 million (around USD 815). For Kim, a newcomer to South Korean society, this sum was an enormous obstacle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, Kim knew that she could not give up. A driver\u2019s license would be crucial to her future. Unfortunately, Kim had no friends or family to rely on. She had been in despair before she finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel\u2014in the form of a welfare worker\u2019s phone call.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several days after the call, Kim headed to Yongin, an area south of Seoul. She disembarked at Singal Station and walked towards the Yongin Driver\u2019s License Examination Office. There was an instructor waiting for her, and Kim was able to register for her driving courses \u2014 without having to pay a fee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_44598\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-44598\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-44598 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00869-copy-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00869-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00869-copy-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00869-copy-630x420.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00869-copy.jpg 741w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-44598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kim Ji-soon in a drivers training course. \/ Image: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2017, the Yongin Driver\u2019s License Examination Office partnered with the East Seoul, East Gyeonggi and South Gyeonggi Hana Centers. The office for disabled test-takers also oversees the fee-exempt driver\u2019s license program for those who qualify for South Korea\u2019s National Basic Livelihood Security System, which includes North Korean defectors. Around 80 defectors have received their licenses through this program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kim Ji-soon became a direct beneficiary through the support of the Yongin Driver\u2019s License Examination Office, and soon found herself in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kim was amazed by the classes. \u201cAt first I couldn\u2019t believe that the car that I was driving was actually moving,\u201d said Kim.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The drivers\u2019 training classes sparked new aspirations. \u201cI want to become a social welfare worker and help people\u2014senior citizens living on their own, disabled individuals\u2014like they\u2019re my own family. I think getting a driver\u2019s license is an important step in achieving these goals,\u201d Kim told Daily NK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAnother goal I have is to become an ordinary, tax-paying South Korean citizen,\u201d said Kim. \u201cAfter receiving help from this program, I realized that I also wanted to devote myself to helping the less fortunate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s Road Traffic Authority operates a total of eight support centers for disabled test-takers. Of these eight centers, only the Yongin Driver\u2019s License Examination Office issues fee exemptions for defectors hoping to receive their licenses, on condition that they produce a letter of recommendation from one of the Hana Center branches in the Seoul metropolitan area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>*Translated by Violet Kim and edited by Sabrine Donohoe<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/%ED%98%84%EC%9E%A5%EC%97%90%EC%84%9C-%ED%83%88%EB%B6%81%EB%AF%BC-%EC%9A%B4%EC%A0%84%EB%A9%B4%ED%97%88-%EB%AC%B4%EB%A3%8C%EA%B5%90%EC%9C%A1-%ED%94%84%EB%A1%9C%EA%B7%B8%EB%9E%A8%EC%9D%84-%EC%95%84\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kim Ji-soon, whose name was changed at her request, is a North Korean defector in her 40s who resides in the Gwanak district of Seoul. She had recently completed her program at the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees in Hanawon when a call from a welfare worker at her local Hana Center left [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":44594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[703,844],"class_list":["post-44593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-education","tag-defections"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Special program helps defectors get behind the wheel - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Daily NK profiles a North Korean defector who recently received her drivers license through a special government program providing support to defectors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Special program helps defectors get behind the wheel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daily NK profiles a North Korean defector who recently received her drivers license through a special government program providing support to defectors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-28T03:07:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T06:21:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/DSC00950-copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"741\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"494\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeong Tae Joo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeong Tae Joo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeong Tae Joo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/054bbb68a21014341831df9d65d085f1\"},\"headline\":\"Special program helps defectors get behind the wheel\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-28T03:07:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-05T06:21:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/DSC00950-copy.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"education\",\"defections\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/special-program-helps-defectors-get-behind-wheel\\\/\",\"name\":\"Special program helps defectors get behind the wheel - 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