 |
By Yun Suh-young
Over one-third of North Korean defectors living in Gyeonggi Province said they consider themselves to be in the lower-income bracket, a survey showed.
The poll conducted by the Gyeonggi Province Family and Women's Research Institute in conjunction with the North Korean Refugees Foundation showed that 39.7 percent of the North Korean defectors living in the province thought they belonged to the lower class. The number was lower than the national average of 45.7 percent.
The survey was conducted among 18,997 North Korean defectors nationwide from June to October last year with 5,054 respondents living in Gyeonggi Province. The total number of North Korean defectors living in Gyeonggi Province as of July 2012 was recorded at 5,757.
The highest number of defectors lived in Seoul at 5,957, followed by Gyeonggi Province and then Incheon with 1,967.
About 41.3 percent of the total respondents said they received between 1 million and 1.5 million won in monthly income and 45.2 percent in Gyeonggi Province answered likewise. Seventy percent of defectors in Gyeonggi Province said their monthly income was below 1.5 million. However, they were positive about their future.
When asked whether they believed their living standards would rise, 73.5 percent in Gyeonggi answered yes as opposed to 68.7 percent nationwide.
As for living in South Korea, 67.2 percent of Gyeonggi residents answered they were satisfied with their lives, just under the national average of 69.3 percent.
The biggest reason for their satisfaction level was because they could earn proportionately to the hours they worked, unlike in North Korea. Other reasons were because they were economically better off, they can engage in the work of their choice as well as being free from surveillance and control.
