'North Korean refugees first go through Hanawon?' Myths and misconceptions, Part 4

Casey Lartigue Jr., first from right, is seen with participants of a forum he moderated on the 20th anniversary of the founding of Hanawon on June 7, 2019. Courtesy of Freedom Speakers International

How many mistakes can Google AI make in one sentence? Last year, along with FSI co-founder Eunkoo Lee, I edited a collection of twenty testimonials by North Korean refugees about their Hanawon experiences. During an Internet search, I saw an entry from Google AI that read: “When entering South Korea, North Korean refugees must first go to Hanawon, the North Korean Refugee Protection Center, for interrogation.”

That statement is incorrect and misleading in multiple ways. One, North Korean refugees are typically first processed by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), where they undergo security screenings and debriefings. Two, Hanawon, operated by the Ministry of Unification, is not where interrogation occurs. Three, Hanawon is officially called the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees and provides resettlement education and support to help refugees adjust to life in South Korea, not interrogation (although they are probably still being monitored). Four, it is the NIS, not Hanawon, that is referred to as the North Korean Refugee Protection Center.

This blog post is based on interviews with North Korean refugees, public sources, and independent research. It is not an official representation of Hanawon or the South Korean government.

Opened in 1999, after the flow of North Korean refugees greatly increased in the wake of North Korea’s “Arduous March,” Hanawon has multiple campuses. The main and first facility opened in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province for women, children, and adolescents, and the second one in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province is exclusively for men.

Hanawon, literally “House of Unity,” has changed its curriculum many times over the years in response to feedback from North Korean refugees and insights from administrators, so this blog post may not reflect the experiences of all 34,000 North Korean refugees who have come to South Korea since the late 1990s.

Upon arrival in South Korea, North Korean refugees are immediately placed under the jurisdiction of the NIS for an extensive screening and interrogation process that can last anywhere from a week to several months – most North Korean refugees spend about three months at the facility as they wait for others in their groups to go through the interrogation. According to North Korean refugees, this is a no-nonsense facility.

What happens there? One, North Korean refugees undergo background checks to verify that they are not spies or double agents. Two, they are questioned about their experiences in North Korea, their escape route, and any information they may have about the regime. They are questioned by agents who know North Korea down to the street level. For at least a decade, agents have shown North Korean refugees their hometowns and streets via Google Earth, shocking those who had never experienced the Internet. Three, North Korean refugees are assessed for potential security risks or valuable intelligence they might provide.

While Google AI stated that “North Korean refugees must first go to Hanawon,” that isn’t completely true. Most North Korean refugees are sent to Hanawon after clearing the NIS screening and some skip the program entirely or receive expedited processing.

High-profile North Korean refugees who have specialized knowledge (senior diplomats, military officers, or scientists with sensitive information) typically do not enter Hanawon. Some cases I have directly heard include former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho and author Jang Jin-sung, who were sent to government intelligence facilities for in-depth debriefings rather than to Hanawon. Oh Chong-song, the former North Korean soldier who escaped through the DMZ in 2017 in a hail of bullets, received medical care and remained under NIS custody for a long period of time reportedly without going through Hanawon.

Who else skips Hanawon? Pregnant North Korean refugees and new mothers sometimes skip Hanawon or have shortened stays for health and family reasons. A few North Korean refugee mothers I have met said they stayed at Hanawon for as short as a few days or a week before being released–or completely skipped it if they were on the verge of giving birth.

Some elderly North Korean refugees or those with serious medical conditions have also been given alternative resettlement paths. Some stay in hospitals rather than Hanawon or are released to family members who are already here in South Korea. Children and adolescents who have family members have also had their stays at Hanawon shortened.

I have heard but can’t verify that those who have admitted to violent criminal activity in North Korea who are not allowed into Hanawon, but there was no explanation about what happens to them.

There are other exceptions I have heard about, such as refugees who received protection at South Korean diplomatic missions abroad. They often receive customized settlement procedures after arrival, particularly if they were in long-term asylum situations. Vulnerable female defectors, particularly those trafficked in China, may have their Hanawon stints shortened or they may be placed in protected housing.

For those who attend Hanawon, the program typically lasts three months and is designed to help North Korean refugees adjust to South Korean society. The curriculum and services usually include Korean language instruction; job training and employment assistance to support integration into the workforce; education on South Korean society, culture, and history; practical adjustment education — such as how to use public transportation, open a bank account, operate an ATM, use a smartphone, and pay utility bills — to help them navigate daily life; medical treatment and health care; and psychological counseling to support trauma recovery, as I discussed in a speech at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Alumni of Color Conference, March 1.

North Korean refugees typically attend lectures on democracy, capitalism, human rights, the South Korean legal system, and South Korean life. There are supervised outings, such as to a local bank, grocery store, or the 63 Building, but otherwise they are isolated and their movements are restricted – leading some North Korean refugees to denounce it as a jail. Part of the education includes career and vocational training and courses in various trades and certification programs.

Most North Korean refugees entering South Korea go through the process outlined in this blog post, but presenting it as all North Korean refugees go that route overlooks that it is a highly complex, case-by-case process that depends on a refugee’s background, health, security risk and intelligence value.

This blog post, grounded in interviews and research, aims to provide a more accurate and human-centered understanding of what truly happens after North Koreans escape to freedom.

So, while Hanawon is the standard route, there are more exceptions than most people – or Google AI–realize.