Nearly 20,000 North Korean defectors are living in South Korea. Most of them fled from hunger and oppression under the military dictatorship in pursuit of food and freedom. They risked their lives to realize their South Korean dream. No doubt the defectors have aspired to lead a decent life here.
But a question still remains to be answered: Can they really see their dream come true and do they still have much hope for a future here? It’s not easy to expect a positive answer. The reason is that they face another problem following their arrival in the South. They find it hard to adapt to a capitalist society.
This is not to say that defectors from the North have done little to assimilate into the new community. Upon their arrival in the South, they are required to undergo a three-month rehabilitation program. And then, they are given a rental apartment with financial aid for their settlement. But, it is still difficult for them to find jobs to stand on their own feet.
The number of North Korean defectors living here stood at 19,569 at the end of August, a 10-fold increase from a decade ago. Around 42 percent of them work as day laborers with their monthly income amounting to less than 1 million won ($890). As a result, they can hardly meet their minimum living costs. No less than 60 percent of the escapees have to rely on state support for their livelihood.
Of course, a majority of the defectors are unskilled workers who had no specific jobs in the North. And 77 percent of the escapees are female. These factors are one of the reasons for their hardship in landing good jobs here. But a more serious problem is that local employers are usually prejudiced or discriminate against those from the North. No one can deny that North Korean defectors have been treated as third-class citizens. They have endured far worse treatment at workplaces than migrant workers from Southeast Asian countries.
Some critics point to the defectors’ lack of effort to adjust themselves to the competitive capitalist society. However, the embedded cause of their hardship reflects how closed South Korean society still is to those from outside. That’s why approximately 60 percent of the defectors still regard themselves as North Koreans, according to a survey. Only 6.3 percent thinks they have become South Koreans.
It is sad to realize that a considerable number of the defectors have been trying to leave the South and seek new refuge in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and other Western countries. This indicates that the defectors have not found much hope due to their frustration and disillusion of living in the South. Let’s do our best to bring back hope and help them become decent members of our society.