• Contact Us
  • Login
THE JOONGANG KOREA DAILY
  • Home
    NCT to release music video for ‘Golden Age’ before album release

    NCT to release music video for ‘Golden Age’ before album release

    Jeon Somi’s agency to remove illustration from her music video following plagiarism accusation

    Jeon Somi’s agency to remove illustration from her music video following plagiarism accusation

    Four members of Ciipher leave band

    Four members of Ciipher leave band

    ‘Sweet’ earns TXT second double platinum certification

    ‘Sweet’ earns TXT second double platinum certification

    Rookie boy band n.SSign hopes to follow in BTS’s footsteps

    Rookie boy band n.SSign hopes to follow in BTS’s footsteps

    Seventeen earns back-to-back million-seller status in Japan with ‘FML’

    Seventeen earns back-to-back million-seller status in Japan with ‘FML’

    Jo Yuri aims to excel as actor, singer

    Jo Yuri aims to excel as actor, singer

    Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

    Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

    Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together get nominations for MTV VMA

    Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together get nominations for MTV VMA

  • Entertainment
    • K-POP
    • Music & Performance
    • Movies
  • Culture
    • Art & Design
    • Food & Travel
    • Life & Style
    • Korean Heritage
  • Why
  • National
    • Politics
    • Social Affairs
    • North Korea
    • Diplomacy
    • K-campus
  • Business
    • Exploring Business
    • Tech
    • K Market
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Basketball
    • Olympics
    • More
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    NCT to release music video for ‘Golden Age’ before album release

    NCT to release music video for ‘Golden Age’ before album release

    Jeon Somi’s agency to remove illustration from her music video following plagiarism accusation

    Jeon Somi’s agency to remove illustration from her music video following plagiarism accusation

    Four members of Ciipher leave band

    Four members of Ciipher leave band

    ‘Sweet’ earns TXT second double platinum certification

    ‘Sweet’ earns TXT second double platinum certification

    Rookie boy band n.SSign hopes to follow in BTS’s footsteps

    Rookie boy band n.SSign hopes to follow in BTS’s footsteps

    Seventeen earns back-to-back million-seller status in Japan with ‘FML’

    Seventeen earns back-to-back million-seller status in Japan with ‘FML’

    Jo Yuri aims to excel as actor, singer

    Jo Yuri aims to excel as actor, singer

    Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

    Eighteen K-pop acts to perform at Jamboree concert amid concerns

    Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together get nominations for MTV VMA

    Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together get nominations for MTV VMA

  • Entertainment
    • K-POP
    • Music & Performance
    • Movies
  • Culture
    • Art & Design
    • Food & Travel
    • Life & Style
    • Korean Heritage
  • Why
  • National
    • Politics
    • Social Affairs
    • North Korea
    • Diplomacy
    • K-campus
  • Business
    • Exploring Business
    • Tech
    • K Market
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Golf
    • Basketball
    • Olympics
    • More
No Result
View All Result
THE JOONGANG KOREA DAILY
No Result
View All Result
Home Sports Olympics

Defectors need grass root support

J by J
November 21, 2022
in Olympics
0
Defectors need grass root support
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Defectors need grass root support

Yoon Yeo-sang

The author is the chief director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights.

The tragedies keep coming. Only a few days after a North Korean defector’s skeleton was discovered in Seoul, a young defector in his 20s was found dead in his tiny apartment. After a mother and child who defected from the North were found starved to death three years ago, the government started operating a crisis management organization to support defectors.

It wasn’t enough. The government announced that it will review the entire support system, but that will likely lead to some stopgap measures, as in the past.

According to a recent survey by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB), job stability among defectors is low compared to average people in the South and their average income is about two thirds that of South Koreans. The report is not much different from a survey from 20 years ago, when the research began. The health conditions of defectors are also poor. Because of illnesses, they have hardship at workplaces and in their lives. They experience discrimination just because they are from North Korea.

Defectors are often called the “unification that came first,” but their lives are different from ordinary people in the South. Of defector households in the South, 66.2 percent said they had wired money to their families and relatives in North Korea. Sending money to the North is an open secret in the defector community. And most of the transfers were made at the request of their families in the North. Although their incomes are about 70 percent of the average for South Koreans, they cannot turn down requests from their North Korean families by citing hardships here. Because of the guilt that their families suffered harsh punishments due to their defections, they send money even if it forces them to borrow money from loan sharks.

When careers faced obstacles due to their North Korean accents and livelihoods were threatened — and when the period of economic hardship grew longer — they may think about relocating to the United States or Europe. Or they may make extreme choices of giving up hope altogether. Suicides and tragic deaths — even a death from starvation — are continually reported. They are not dying because they have nothing to eat but because they lost hope.

It is rare in the South that someone dies of starvation because of a lack of food. They risked their lives and left their families to live in the South, but their pride was destroyed by the misery of here and they want to hide it. A body that lost hope was found years later as a skeleton, meaning that even the social network, essential for human life, had been severed.

Despite the government’s support, defectors have difficulty settling in the South and experts demand a complete revamp of the support system. The problem is the service delivery system. Support policy for the defectors have a different delivery system from that of general welfare and administrative systems. The Ministry of Unification operates 25 Hana Centers around the country to offer education and services to 33,000 defectors.

Various welfare and administrative services for the defectors’ social adjustment are being offered by 25 Hana Centers, not by the 3,500 community centers around the country. Except for Gyeonggi province and Seoul, one Hana Center is located in each metropolitan city and province. Although social welfare centers, community centers, and city and provincial offices are located in their residential areas, defectors are considered “special people” for their rest of lives and receive separate services from Hana Centers alone.

Defectors are citizens of the Republic of Korea, too. They are voters who elect mayors, governors and local representatives. The support system for the defectors should be changed so that local administrative and welfare offices can offer services with responsibility. This separation causes discrimination and isolation, not special protection.

Welfare and administrative services for the defectors could be improved when the Ministry of the Interior and Safety takes the main role while other ministries, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, cooperate. If the Ministry of Unification — which has no local sub-organizations around the country — is in charge of offering assistance to the defectors, the 500 social welfare centers in the neighborhood cannot offer services although they have manpower and professional service capabilities.

Blind spots will disappear when local administrative and welfare offices and neighbors show engaging attitudes toward defectors. Active efforts of the defectors to settle in the South, a pragmatic support policy and local community’s engagement should be harmonized.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

Previous Post

Kim Ye-lim wins gold at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy

Next Post

Samsung opens flagship store of fashion brand Beaker in trendy Seongsu-dong

J

J

Related Posts

Moral hazard? Well, think again
Olympics

Moral hazard? Well, think again

by J
August 10, 2023
Three keys to promoting our traditional music
Olympics

Three keys to promoting our traditional music

by J
August 10, 2023
Just a piece of cake
Olympics

Just a piece of cake

by J
August 10, 2023
Rescue me
Olympics

Rescue me

by J
August 10, 2023
Coupang reports record quarterly operating profit in Q2
Olympics

Coupang reports record quarterly operating profit in Q2

by J
August 9, 2023
Next Post
Samsung opens flagship store of fashion brand Beaker in trendy Seongsu-dong

Samsung opens flagship store of fashion brand Beaker in trendy Seongsu-dong

Please login to join discussion

Premium Content

Bangladeshi fan backs Korea with 3.5-kilometer flag

Bangladeshi fan backs Korea with 3.5-kilometer flag

November 21, 2022
[CELEB] Hyun Bin is back as a North Korean detective in ‘Confidential Assignment 2’

[CELEB] Hyun Bin is back as a North Korean detective in ‘Confidential Assignment 2’

September 4, 2022
Prosecutors raid office, home of liberal KCC chair

Prosecutors raid office, home of liberal KCC chair

February 16, 2023

Browse by Category

  • Art & Design
  • Basketball
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Diplomacy
  • Entertainment
  • Exploring Business
  • Food & Travel
  • Football
  • Golf
  • K-campus
  • K-POP
  • Korean Heritage
  • Life & Style
  • More
  • Movies
  • Music & Performance
  • North Korea
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Social Affairs
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • Why

Browse by Tags

#CulturalExchange bibimbap BLUE TAMBURIN bo min kim burnaby korean coffee shop canada canadian concert coquitlam coffee shop coquitlam community coquitlam flea market food foodie Franchises golf golf academy in vancouver kfashion kmovie k news in canada k news in vancouver korea korean korean culture korean designer korean fashion korean film korean food korean music in canada korean performance in vancouver korean peroformance kpop lee dong guk movie music performance in vancouver poke Steve's Poke Bar vancouver vancouver fashion vancouver food vancouver golf vancouver korean vancouver korean consulate vfw vga
THE JOONGANG KOREA DAILY

Categories

  • Art & Design
  • Basketball
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Diplomacy
  • Entertainment
  • Exploring Business
  • Food & Travel
  • Football
  • Golf
  • K-campus
  • K-POP
  • Korean Heritage
  • Life & Style
  • More
  • Movies
  • Music & Performance
  • North Korea
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Social Affairs
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • Why

Browse by Tag

#CulturalExchange bibimbap BLUE TAMBURIN bo min kim burnaby korean coffee shop canada canadian concert coquitlam coffee shop coquitlam community coquitlam flea market food foodie Franchises golf golf academy in vancouver kfashion kmovie k news in canada k news in vancouver korea korean korean culture korean designer korean fashion korean film korean food korean music in canada korean performance in vancouver korean peroformance kpop lee dong guk movie music performance in vancouver poke Steve's Poke Bar vancouver vancouver fashion vancouver food vancouver golf vancouver korean vancouver korean consulate vfw vga

Recent Posts

  • Voices of Change: Insights from the 2023 AMCANADA English Speech Contest Winners
  • Harmonious Celebrations: AMMC’s Concert Commemorating 60 Years of Korea-Canada Diplomatic Relations.
  • Beyond the bouquet: Here’s why Aromatears isn’t your ordinary flower shop

Copyright © The Joongang Korea Daily All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Culture
  • Why
  • National
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Contact Us

Copyright © The Joongang Korea Daily All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?