North Korean defectors
Encyclopedia
A number of individuals have defected
from North Korea
. Since the division of Korea
after World War II
and the end of the Korean War
(1950–1953), many people have defected from North Korea, mainly for political
, ideological, religious and economic
reasons. The first famous defection occurred shortly after the signing of the armistice ending the Korean War, on September 21, 1953, when then 21-year-old No Kum-Sok
, a senior lieutenant
in the North Korea
n air force
, flew his MiG-15
to the South
and is associated with Operation Moolah
. Considered an intelligence bonanza, since this fighter plane was then the best the Communist bloc had, No was awarded the then immense sum of $100,000 and the right to reside in the United States. An offer to return the MiG was ignored, and the aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
, Dayton, Ohio
.
Many more have defected since then, and many are caught during the attempted defection. The usual strategy is to cross the border into Jilin
and Liaoning
provinces in Northeast China
before fleeing to a third country, because the People's Republic of China
, a close ally of Pyongyang
, refuses to grant North Korean defectors refugee status and considers them illegal
economic migrants. If the defectors are caught in China, they are repatriated back to North Korea to face years of punishment or even death in North Korean prison camps.
s. On 9 January 2005, the South Korean Ministry of Unification
announced the use of saeteomin instead of talbukja (“people who fled the North”), a term about which North Korean officials expressed displeasure. A newer term is bukhanitalchumin (hangul
: 북한이탈주민 hanja
: 北韓離脫住民), which has the more forceful meaning of, "residents who renounced North Korea".
has between 20,000−30,000 North Korean refugees. There was a continued decline in the number of North Korean refugees in China, with around 11,000 in the country at year’s end , mostly in the northeast
, making them the largest population outside of North Korea; these are not typically considered to be members of the ethnic Korean community, and the Chinese census does not count them as such. Some North Korean refugees who are unable to obtain transport to South Korea
instead marry ethnic Koreans in China and settle there, blending into the community; however, they are still subject to deportation if discovered by the authorities. Those who have found 'escape brokers', mostly try to enter the South Korean consulate in Shenyang. In recent years, however, the Chinese government has tightened the security and increased the number of police outside the consulate. So, today there are new ways of getting into South Korea. One of them is the route to the Mongolian border; another is the route to southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. These new ways have been created because those countries welcome the North Korean defectors.
According to a source from 2005, "60 to 70% of the defectors [in China] are women, 70 to 80% of whom are victims of human trafficking."
Most of the clients of North Korean women are Chinese citizens of Korean descent, largely elderly bachelors.
Violent abuse starts in apartments near the border, from where the women are then moved to cities further away to work as sex slaves. When Chinese authorities arrest these North Korean slaves, they repatriate them. North Korean authorities keep such repatriates in penal labour colonies (and/or execute them), execute any of the Chinese-fathered babies "to protect North Korean pure blood" and force abortions on all pregnant repatriates not executed. China refuses to grant refugee status to North Korean defectors, and considers them illegal economic migrants. The Chinese authorities arrest and deport hundreds of defectors back into North Korea each week, sometimes in mass immigration sweeps. Chinese citizens caught aiding defectors face fines and imprisonment.
, one in 1987, one on June 2, 2007, when a family of four North Koreans made it to the coast of Aomori Prefecture
, where they were found by the police and Japan Coast Guard
, after a six-day boat ride. The four said they wanted to leave for South Korea, but after initial agreement between the governments of South Korea and Japan, one of the defectors was found to possess one gram of amphetamine
. The police said it will not prosecute the man for possession but he is currently under investigation. The latest defectors in 2011 were found by the Japan Coast Guard
on a wooden boat carrying nine people, three men, three women and three boys. The group had been sailing for five days towards South Korea but drifted towards the Noto Peninsula
.
Japan has resettled about 140 ethnic Koreans who managed to return to Japan after initially migrating to North Korea under the 1959-1984 mass "repatriation" project of ethnic Koreans from Japan. This supposed humanitarian project, supported by Chongryon
and conducted by the Japanese
and North Korean Red Crosses, involved the resettlement of around 90,000 volunteers (mostly originating from South Korea
) in the DPRK, which was hailed as "paradise on earth" by Chongryon.
, whose government tries to maintain good relations with both North and South Korea but is sympathetic to North Korean refugees. North Korean refugees who are caught in Mongolia are deported to South Korea, effectively granting them a free air ticket. However, this route is not used as much because it requires navigating the unforgiving terrain of the Gobi Desert
.
has in the past been used as a transit point for North Korean refugees, often arriving from China and then being sent on to South Korea. There may also be an unknown number of North Korean refugees that have blended into the South Korean community in the Philippines.
; many are escapees from North Korean work camps there. Both South Korean diplomatic missions
and local ethnic Koreans are reluctant to provide them with any assistance; it is believed that North Korea ordered the assassination of South Korea
n consul Choi Duk-gun in 1996 as well as two private citizens in 1995, in response to their contact with the refugees. As of 1999, there were estimated to be only between 100 and 500 North Korean refugees in the area.
introduced the "Special law on the protection of defectors from the North" which, after revision in 1978, remained effective until 1993. According to the law, every defector was eligible for a generous aid package. After their arrival in the South, defectors would receive an allowance. The size of this allowance depended on the category to which the particular defector belonged (there were three such categories). The category was determined by the defector’s political and intelligence value. Apart from this allowance, defectors who delivered especially valuable intelligence or equipment were given large additional rewards. Prior to 1997 the payments had been fixed in gold bullion, not in South Korean won
—in attempts to counter ingrained distrust about the reliability of paper money.
The state provided some defectors with apartments, and all those who wished to study were granted the right to enter a university of his or her choice. Military officers were allowed to continue their service in the South Korean military
where they were given the same rank that they had held in the North Korean army
. For a period of time after their arrival defectors were also provided with personal bodyguards.
Recently, South Korea has passed controversial new measures intended to slow the flow of asylum
seekers as it has become worried that a growing number of North Koreans crossing the Amnok and Duman
rivers into China will soon seek refuge in the South.
The regulations tighten defector screening processes and slash the amount of money given to each refugee from ₩28,000,000 to ₩10,000,000. South Korean officials say the new rules are intended to prevent ethnic Koreans living in China from entering the South, as well as stop North Koreans with criminal records from gaining entry.
, Gyeonggi Province, about an hour south of Seoul. Originally built to accommodate around 200 people for a 3 month resettlement program, the government extended the center in 2002 to double its original size and cut the program from three months to two months because of the increase in the number of North Korean defectors per year. In 2004, to mark the fifth anniversary of the program, a second facility opened south of Seoul. Hanawon can now feed, house, and train 400 people at one time.
At Hanawon, the training curriculum is focused on three main goals: easing the socioeconomic and psychological anxiety of North Korean defectors; overcoming the barriers of cultural heterogeneity; and offering practical training for earning a livelihood in the South.
Hanawon imposes heavy restrictions on the travel of North Korean defectors because of security concerns. In addition, security is tight with barbed wire, security guards, and cameras. The threat of kidnap
or physical attacks against individual defectors by North Korean agents is ever-present.
Upon completion of the Hanawon program, defectors find their own homes with a government subsidy. When Hanawon first opened North Koreans were originally offered ₩36 million per person to resettle with ₩540,000 monthly afterward. Now they receive ₩20 million to resettle and ₩320,000 monthly.
Source: Ministry of Unification, South Korea
is usually the final destination of North Koreans escaping through China. While North Koreans are not given refugee status and are officially classified as illegal immigrants, the Thai government deports them to South Korea after they have served their prison sentences for illegal entry. Many North Koreans will in fact surrender themselves to the Thai police as soon as they cross the border into Thailand.
, the first time the U.S. accepted refugees from there since President George W. Bush
signed the North Korean Human Rights Act
in October 2004. The group, which arrived from an unnamed Southeast Asian nation, included four women who said that they had been the victim of forced marriages. Since this first group of refugees, the US was reported to having admitted approximately 50 more North Korean refugees.
As of June 2010, there are a reported 99 North Korean refugees living in the United States.
was described as the "preferred Southeast Asian escape route" for North Korean defectors, largely due to its less mountainous terrain. Though Vietnam remains an officially communist country and maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea, growing South Korean investment in Vietnam has prompted Hanoi to quietly permit the transit of North Korean refugees to Seoul. The increased South Korean presence in the country also proved a magnet for defectors; four of the biggest defector safehouses in Vietnam were run by South Korean expatriates, and many defectors indicated that they chose to try to cross the border from China into Vietnam precisely because they had heard about such safehouses. In July 2004, 468 North Korean refugees were airlifted to South Korea in the single largest mass defection; Vietnam initially tried to keep their role in the airlift secret, and in advance of the deal, even anonymous sources in the South Korean government would only tell reporters that the defectors came from "an unidentified Asian country". Following the airlift, Vietnam tightened border controls and deported several safehouse operators.
reports that in 2007 alone, over 100 asylum applications were submitted, and that North Korean refugees have come from China or elsewhere with the help of Canadian missionaries and NGOs. The rapid increase in asylum applications to Canada is due to the limited options, especially when receiving asylum is becoming more difficult. On February 2, 2011 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
met Ms. Hye Sook Kim, a North Korean defector and also received advice from Dr. Norbert Vollertsen
, "Canada can persuade China, among others, not to repatriate the North Korean refugees back to North Korea but, instead, let them go to South Korea and other countries, including Canada."
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
from North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. Since the division of Korea
Division of Korea
The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the end of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(1950–1953), many people have defected from North Korea, mainly for political
Politics of North Korea
The politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic multi-party system within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-il. In practice, North Korea...
, ideological, religious and economic
Economy of North Korea
The economy of North Korea is an industrialized and centrally planned economy.North Korea's economy remains one of the world's last centrally planned systems. The role of market allocation is sharply limited – mainly in the rural sector where some peasants sell produce from small private plots....
reasons. The first famous defection occurred shortly after the signing of the armistice ending the Korean War, on September 21, 1953, when then 21-year-old No Kum-Sok
No Kum-Sok
No Kum-Sok is a former lieutenant of the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea...
, a senior lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
, flew his MiG-15
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in...
to the South
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and is associated with Operation Moolah
Operation Moolah
Operation Moolah was a United States Air Force effort during the Korean War to obtain through defection a fully capable Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter. The MiG-15 was introduced by Communist forces on November 1, 1950 over the skies of Korea...
. Considered an intelligence bonanza, since this fighter plane was then the best the Communist bloc had, No was awarded the then immense sum of $100,000 and the right to reside in the United States. An offer to return the MiG was ignored, and the aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
, Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
.
Many more have defected since then, and many are caught during the attempted defection. The usual strategy is to cross the border into Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
and Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
provinces in Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
before fleeing to a third country, because the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, a close ally of Pyongyang
Foreign relations of North Korea
The foreign relations of North Korea are often tense and unpredictable. Since the Korean War armistice in 1953, the North Korean government has been largely isolationist, becoming one of the world's most authoritarian societies...
, refuses to grant North Korean defectors refugee status and considers them illegal
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
economic migrants. If the defectors are caught in China, they are repatriated back to North Korea to face years of punishment or even death in North Korean prison camps.
Terms
Different terms are in official and unofficial use to refer to this group of refugeeRefugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s. On 9 January 2005, the South Korean Ministry of Unification
Ministry of Unification
The Ministry of Unification is a branch of the South Korean government that is charged with working toward the reunification of Korea. It was first established in 1969 as the National Unification Board, under the rule of Park Chung-hee...
announced the use of saeteomin instead of talbukja (“people who fled the North”), a term about which North Korean officials expressed displeasure. A newer term is bukhanitalchumin (hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 북한이탈주민 hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: 北韓離脫住民), which has the more forceful meaning of, "residents who renounced North Korea".
In China
ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
has between 20,000−30,000 North Korean refugees. There was a continued decline in the number of North Korean refugees in China, with around 11,000 in the country at year’s end , mostly in the northeast
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
, making them the largest population outside of North Korea; these are not typically considered to be members of the ethnic Korean community, and the Chinese census does not count them as such. Some North Korean refugees who are unable to obtain transport to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
instead marry ethnic Koreans in China and settle there, blending into the community; however, they are still subject to deportation if discovered by the authorities. Those who have found 'escape brokers', mostly try to enter the South Korean consulate in Shenyang. In recent years, however, the Chinese government has tightened the security and increased the number of police outside the consulate. So, today there are new ways of getting into South Korea. One of them is the route to the Mongolian border; another is the route to southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. These new ways have been created because those countries welcome the North Korean defectors.
According to a source from 2005, "60 to 70% of the defectors [in China] are women, 70 to 80% of whom are victims of human trafficking."
Most of the clients of North Korean women are Chinese citizens of Korean descent, largely elderly bachelors.
Violent abuse starts in apartments near the border, from where the women are then moved to cities further away to work as sex slaves. When Chinese authorities arrest these North Korean slaves, they repatriate them. North Korean authorities keep such repatriates in penal labour colonies (and/or execute them), execute any of the Chinese-fathered babies "to protect North Korean pure blood" and force abortions on all pregnant repatriates not executed. China refuses to grant refugee status to North Korean defectors, and considers them illegal economic migrants. The Chinese authorities arrest and deport hundreds of defectors back into North Korea each week, sometimes in mass immigration sweeps. Chinese citizens caught aiding defectors face fines and imprisonment.
In Japan
There have been three cases of North Korean defectors escaping directly to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, one in 1987, one on June 2, 2007, when a family of four North Koreans made it to the coast of Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, where they were found by the police and Japan Coast Guard
Japan Coast Guard
The , formerly the Maritime Safety Agency, is the Japanese coast guard. Comprising about 12,000 personnel, it is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and is responsible for the protection the coast-lines of Japan...
, after a six-day boat ride. The four said they wanted to leave for South Korea, but after initial agreement between the governments of South Korea and Japan, one of the defectors was found to possess one gram of amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
. The police said it will not prosecute the man for possession but he is currently under investigation. The latest defectors in 2011 were found by the Japan Coast Guard
Japan Coast Guard
The , formerly the Maritime Safety Agency, is the Japanese coast guard. Comprising about 12,000 personnel, it is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and is responsible for the protection the coast-lines of Japan...
on a wooden boat carrying nine people, three men, three women and three boys. The group had been sailing for five days towards South Korea but drifted towards the Noto Peninsula
Noto Peninsula
thumb|right|240px|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle.Noto Peninsula is a peninsula that projects north into the Sea of Japan from the coast of Ishikawa prefecture in central Honshū, the main island of Japan...
.
Japan has resettled about 140 ethnic Koreans who managed to return to Japan after initially migrating to North Korea under the 1959-1984 mass "repatriation" project of ethnic Koreans from Japan. This supposed humanitarian project, supported by Chongryon
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan , abbreviated to Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chae Ilbon Chosŏnin Ch'ongryŏnhaphoe in Korean or Zai-Nihon Chōsenjin Sōrengōkai in Japanese), abbreviated to Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents...
and conducted by the Japanese
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
and North Korean Red Crosses, involved the resettlement of around 90,000 volunteers (mostly originating from South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
) in the DPRK, which was hailed as "paradise on earth" by Chongryon.
In Mongolia
A much shorter route than the standard China-Laos-Thailand route is to head straight to MongoliaMongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, whose government tries to maintain good relations with both North and South Korea but is sympathetic to North Korean refugees. North Korean refugees who are caught in Mongolia are deported to South Korea, effectively granting them a free air ticket. However, this route is not used as much because it requires navigating the unforgiving terrain of the Gobi Desert
Gobi Desert
The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...
.
In the Philippines
The PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
has in the past been used as a transit point for North Korean refugees, often arriving from China and then being sent on to South Korea. There may also be an unknown number of North Korean refugees that have blended into the South Korean community in the Philippines.
In Russia
A study by Kyung Hee University estimated that roughly 10,000 North Koreans live in the Russian Far EastRussian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
; many are escapees from North Korean work camps there. Both South Korean diplomatic missions
South Korean diplomatic missions
This is a list of diplomatic missions of South Korea. In the 1980s the Roh Tae-woo government gradually initiated diplomatic links with the Soviet bloc, in a policy known as Nordpolitik, leading to the opening of representative offices and later embassies in socialist regimes in Europe and Asia...
and local ethnic Koreans are reluctant to provide them with any assistance; it is believed that North Korea ordered the assassination of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n consul Choi Duk-gun in 1996 as well as two private citizens in 1995, in response to their contact with the refugees. As of 1999, there were estimated to be only between 100 and 500 North Korean refugees in the area.
Reward
In 1962, the government of South KoreaGovernment of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
introduced the "Special law on the protection of defectors from the North" which, after revision in 1978, remained effective until 1993. According to the law, every defector was eligible for a generous aid package. After their arrival in the South, defectors would receive an allowance. The size of this allowance depended on the category to which the particular defector belonged (there were three such categories). The category was determined by the defector’s political and intelligence value. Apart from this allowance, defectors who delivered especially valuable intelligence or equipment were given large additional rewards. Prior to 1997 the payments had been fixed in gold bullion, not in South Korean won
South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
—in attempts to counter ingrained distrust about the reliability of paper money.
The state provided some defectors with apartments, and all those who wished to study were granted the right to enter a university of his or her choice. Military officers were allowed to continue their service in the South Korean military
Military of South Korea
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces or ROK Armed Forces, is the armed forces of the Republic of Korea...
where they were given the same rank that they had held in the North Korean army
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army , also known as the Inmin Gun, are the military forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army and Chairman of the National Defence Commission...
. For a period of time after their arrival defectors were also provided with personal bodyguards.
Recently, South Korea has passed controversial new measures intended to slow the flow of asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
seekers as it has become worried that a growing number of North Koreans crossing the Amnok and Duman
Tumen River
The Tumen River is a 521 km-long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea, and Russia, rising in Mount Baekdu and flowing into the Sea of Japan....
rivers into China will soon seek refuge in the South.
The regulations tighten defector screening processes and slash the amount of money given to each refugee from ₩28,000,000 to ₩10,000,000. South Korean officials say the new rules are intended to prevent ethnic Koreans living in China from entering the South, as well as stop North Koreans with criminal records from gaining entry.
Resettlement
Hanawon opened on July 8, 1999, and is the government resettlement center for North Korean defectors. It is nestled in the South Korean countryside, in AnseongAnseong
Anseong is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, 80 km south of Seoul. Its geographical location is .Anseong promotes itself as "The City of Masters". It is known for producing brassware and arts and crafts. From late Spring to Fall, Anseong is holds its own Namsadang Neuri Festival...
, Gyeonggi Province, about an hour south of Seoul. Originally built to accommodate around 200 people for a 3 month resettlement program, the government extended the center in 2002 to double its original size and cut the program from three months to two months because of the increase in the number of North Korean defectors per year. In 2004, to mark the fifth anniversary of the program, a second facility opened south of Seoul. Hanawon can now feed, house, and train 400 people at one time.
At Hanawon, the training curriculum is focused on three main goals: easing the socioeconomic and psychological anxiety of North Korean defectors; overcoming the barriers of cultural heterogeneity; and offering practical training for earning a livelihood in the South.
Hanawon imposes heavy restrictions on the travel of North Korean defectors because of security concerns. In addition, security is tight with barbed wire, security guards, and cameras. The threat of kidnap
North Korean abductions of South Koreans
An estimated 84,532 South Koreans were taken to North Korea during the Korean War. In addition, South Korean statistics claim that, since the Korean Armistice in 1953, about 3,800 people have been abducted in North Korea , 480 of whom are still being held by North Korea.- Two types of Abductees...
or physical attacks against individual defectors by North Korean agents is ever-present.
Upon completion of the Hanawon program, defectors find their own homes with a government subsidy. When Hanawon first opened North Koreans were originally offered ₩36 million per person to resettle with ₩540,000 monthly afterward. Now they receive ₩20 million to resettle and ₩320,000 monthly.
Statistics
Approximate total number of defectors from 1953 to 2005: 14000| year | defector |
|---|---|
| pre 1989 | 607 |
| 1990 | 9 |
| 1991 | 9 |
| 1992 | 8 |
| 1993 | 8 |
| 1994 | 52 |
| 1995 | 41 |
| 1996 | 56 |
| 1997 | 85 |
| 1998 | 71 |
| 1999 | 148 |
| 2000 | 312 |
| 2001 | 583 |
| 2002 | 1,140 |
| 2003 | 1,281 |
| 2004 | 1,894 |
| 2005 | 1,383 |
| 2006 | 2,018 |
| 2007 | 2,544 |
| 2008 | 2,809 |
| 2009 | 2,952 |
Source: Ministry of Unification, South Korea
In Thailand
ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
is usually the final destination of North Koreans escaping through China. While North Koreans are not given refugee status and are officially classified as illegal immigrants, the Thai government deports them to South Korea after they have served their prison sentences for illegal entry. Many North Koreans will in fact surrender themselves to the Thai police as soon as they cross the border into Thailand.
In the United States
On May 5, 2006, unnamed North Koreans were granted refugee status by the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the first time the U.S. accepted refugees from there since President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
signed the North Korean Human Rights Act
North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
Signed into U.S. law by President George W. Bush on October 18, 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is intended to make it easier for the United States to assist North Korean refugees by:...
in October 2004. The group, which arrived from an unnamed Southeast Asian nation, included four women who said that they had been the victim of forced marriages. Since this first group of refugees, the US was reported to having admitted approximately 50 more North Korean refugees.
As of June 2010, there are a reported 99 North Korean refugees living in the United States.
In Vietnam
Until 2004, VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
was described as the "preferred Southeast Asian escape route" for North Korean defectors, largely due to its less mountainous terrain. Though Vietnam remains an officially communist country and maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea, growing South Korean investment in Vietnam has prompted Hanoi to quietly permit the transit of North Korean refugees to Seoul. The increased South Korean presence in the country also proved a magnet for defectors; four of the biggest defector safehouses in Vietnam were run by South Korean expatriates, and many defectors indicated that they chose to try to cross the border from China into Vietnam precisely because they had heard about such safehouses. In July 2004, 468 North Korean refugees were airlifted to South Korea in the single largest mass defection; Vietnam initially tried to keep their role in the airlift secret, and in advance of the deal, even anonymous sources in the South Korean government would only tell reporters that the defectors came from "an unidentified Asian country". Following the airlift, Vietnam tightened border controls and deported several safehouse operators.
In Canada
North Korean asylum seekers and defectors are rising in numbers in Canada since 2006. Radio Free AsiaRadio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that operates a radio station and Internet news service. RFA was founded by an act of the US Congress and is operated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors . The RFA is supported in part by grants from the federal government of the United States...
reports that in 2007 alone, over 100 asylum applications were submitted, and that North Korean refugees have come from China or elsewhere with the help of Canadian missionaries and NGOs. The rapid increase in asylum applications to Canada is due to the limited options, especially when receiving asylum is becoming more difficult. On February 2, 2011 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
met Ms. Hye Sook Kim, a North Korean defector and also received advice from Dr. Norbert Vollertsen
Norbert Vollertsen
Norbert Vollertsen is a German doctor and human rights activist.Vollertsen practiced medicine in North Korea from 1999 to 2001 with the Cap Anamur Committee, a non-governmental cooperation organization...
, "Canada can persuade China, among others, not to repatriate the North Korean refugees back to North Korea but, instead, let them go to South Korea and other countries, including Canada."
See also
- List of people of Korean descent
- Politics of North KoreaPolitics of North KoreaThe politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic multi-party system within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-il. In practice, North Korea...
- Human rights in North KoreaHuman rights in North KoreaThe human rights record of North Korea is extremely hard to fully assess due to the secretive and closed nature of the country. The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country and strictly monitors their activities when they do...
- HanvoiceHanvoiceHanVoice is a Canadian-based human rights organization established in 2007 to assist North Korean refugees. The organization's name is derived from the word "han", which in the Korean language means both "one" and "a sense of deploring, grief, lamentation or heart-burning"...
- Seoul TrainSeoul TrainSeoul Train is a 2005 documentary that deals with the dangerous journeys of North Korean defectors fleeing through or to China. These journeys are both dangerous and daring, since if caught, they face forced repatriation, torture and possible execution....
Fiction works
- Gérard de VilliersGérard de VilliersGérard de Villiers is a French writer, journalist and editor. His SAS series of spy novels have been bestsellers, with his total sales running into more than 150 million. His works have been translated and are especially popular in Germany, Russia, Turkey, and Japan...
, Le Défecteur de Pyongyang (SAS series, two volumes)
Sites
- South Korean Ministry Of Unification
- SoonOkLee.org – Firsthand account of a North Korean prisoner camp survivor
- Crossing Heaven's Border PBS documentary follows North Korean defectors on a harrowing journey to freedom
- "Seoul Train" by Jim Butterworth, Lisa Sleeth and Aaron Lubarsky, 2004 PBS documentary, at Independent LensIndependent LensAiring weekly on PBS through ITVS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens introduces new drama and documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of Independent Lens have been presented by hosts Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Howard, Maggie...
PBS website. ("Seoul Train" at Global VoicesGlobal VoicesThe phrase Global Voices might refer to:* Global Voices Online, a blog with more than 100 contributors that reports on what is going on in the blogospheres of every corner of world...
PBS website)
Articles
- UNHCR protests Chinese deportation of North Koreans
- "North Korean Refugees in China and Human Rights Issues: International Response and U.S. Policy Options", CRS Report to Congress, September 26, 2007
- Wolfowitz, PaulPaul WolfowitzPaul Dundes Wolfowitz is a former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, President of the World Bank, and former dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University...
, "How to Help North Korea's Refugees", The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2009 - "North Korean Refugees in China: Findings", US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2005 Annual Report.
- MacIntyre, Donald, "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide", Time magazine, Monday, Jun. 25, 2001