North Korean defectors

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North Korean defectors
Hangul:	탈북자
Hanja:	脫北者
Revised Romanization:	Talbukja
McCune-Reischauer:	T'albukcha

A number of individuals have defected from North Korea

Different terms are in official and unofficial use in East Asian languages to refer to this group of refugees. On 9 January 2005, the South Korean Ministry of Unification announced that it will use saeteomin (새터민) instead of talbukja, a term about which North Korean officials expressed displeasure.[1]

Contents 1 Background 2 In China 3 In Russia 4 In South Korea 4.1 Reward 4.2 Resettlement 4.3 Statistics 5 In Việt Nam 6 In other countries 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 9.1 Sites 9.2 Articles

[edit] Background

Since the division of the Korean peninsula after World War II and from the end of the Korean War (1950–1953), many people have defected from North Korea, mainly due to political, ideological and economic reasons. Many more are caught during the attempted defection. The usual course is to cross the border into Northeast China before fleeing to a third country. However, 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 where they face years of punishment or even death in North Korean gulags.

[edit] In China

China has between 20,000 and 400,000 North Korean refugees, 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.^[1]

[edit] In Russia

A study by Kyunghee University estimated that roughly 10,000 North Koreans live in the Russian Far East; many are escapees from North Korean work camps there.^[2]

[edit] In South Korea

See also: List of North Korean defectors in South Korea

[edit] Reward

In 1962, the government of South Korea 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 defectors with good apartments that became their personal property without them having to pay anything. Anyone who wished to study was 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 Yalu and Tumen 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 to $10,000. 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.

[edit] 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 Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, about three hours south of Seoul. Originally built to accommodate around 200 inmates 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 personal attacks against individual North Koreans, 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.

[edit] Statistics

Approximate total number of defectors from 1953 to 2005: 8000

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 – 1,139 2003 – 1,281

2004 – 1,894 2005 – 1,387 2006 -

Source: Ministry of Unification, South Korea

[edit] In Việt Nam

Until 2004, Việt Nam was described as the "preferred Southeast Asian escape route" for North Korean defectors, largely due to its less-mountainous terrain. Though Việt Nam remains an officially communist country and maintains diplomatic relations with North Korea, growing South Korean investment in Việt Nam 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 Việt Nam were run by South Korean expatriates, and many defectors indicated that they chose to try to cross the border from China into Việt Nam precisely because they had heard about such safehouses.^[3] In July 2004, 468 North Korean refugees were airlifted to South Korea in the single largest mass defection; Việt Nam 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".^[4] Following the airlift, Việt Nam would tighten up border controls and deport several safe-house operators.^[3]

[edit] In other countries

On May 5, 2006 unnamed North Koreans were granted refugee status by the United States, 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 Asia nation, included four women who said that they had been the victim of forced marriages.

[edit] See also

• List of people of Korean descent
• Politics of North Korea
• Human rights in North Korea

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Sites

• South Korean Ministry Of Unification
• SoonOkLee.org – Firsthand account of a North Korean prisoner camp survivor.

[edit] Articles

• UNHCR protests Chinese deportation of North Koreans