By Kim Young-jin
The number of school-aged North Koreans who defect to South Korea has more tripled over the last five years, a lawmaker said amid ongoing concerns how they adjust to the new environment.
Citing statistics from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Rep. Kim Choon-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party said the number jumped from 475 youth defectors in 2006 to 1681 so far this year.
Over 21,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. They receive citizenship after three months of debriefing and societal adjustment programs.
Young defectors face steep challenges adjusting to society due to language and societal differences. Many received little education in the impoverished North, with some losing their Korean-language abilities while living as refugees in China.
China, the main route through which North Koreans flee, repatriates such refugees, causing defectors to live in hiding and depriving young ones from education.
In the South, youth defectors choose between regular schools and special schools for those from the North. In both cases, many say they struggle due to lack of support at home and the competitive education culture in the South. Families also have trouble affording tuition to expensive tutoring academies popular here.
Activists estimate that 10 percent of such youth defect on their own, while another 40 percent come with a distant relative, often making for unstable homes.
In a sign that programs are beginning to better suit their needs, the dropout rate for such defectors has decreased in the past three years, from 10.8 percent in 2007 to 4.7 percent in 2010, according to the report.
The reasons for dropping out ranged from responsibilities at home to struggles adjusting to the new environment.
Rep. Kim urged the government to take further measures for young defectors, saying their ability to adjust here was a barometer for the nation’s preparedness for unification.
"More thorough and systematic preparation for the defector students is a must, concerning that their dropout rate is much higher than that of South Korean students," he said.
The Lee Myung-bak administration this year nearly quadrupled its budget for defectors, who have long said life in the South was tough due to such problems as finding employment and negative stereotypes about them.