Study abroad program launched for N. Korean defectors

By Yi Whan-woo

The Ministry of Unification ― in conjunction with the Australian government and a university in Sydney ― will launch a study abroad program for former North Korean defectors.

The ministry said Monday that Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo signed a memorandum of understanding with Australian Ambassador to South Korea William Paterson and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Managing Director Alex Murphy at Hong’s office in downtown Seoul.

Five college students who escaped from the North will be chosen every year. It has not been decided when the program will begin.

Participating students will have a chance to join a 30-week English-language-learning program at UTS:INSEARCH, a UTS language school.

The program will require 30 million won ($22,400) annually.

The unification ministry will provide one-third of the cost, while Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the UTS will cover the rest.

“Such expenses include medical care, textbooks and airline tickets,” the ministry said in a press release. “We hope our program will help participants to interact with international students while bolstering their English-language abilities.”

Former North Korean students lacked opportunities to learn English extensively in the repressive regime, and therefore have difficulty coping with academic work at South Korean universities, according to the government.