총 40페이지

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EyeofTheArgus
Fellowmen Leaving Korea:
North Korean Defectors
ByKimJun-kyu
EditorofNationalSection
ur ethnic kin from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are leaving us. Why are they doing
suchathingeventhoughtheyknowthedifficultyofgettingsettleddowninanotherforeigncountry?
Inparticular,whyarethepeoplepossessingKoreancitizenshipleavingforothercountries?
The number of North Korean defectors who escape to South Korea is increasing annually. In 2009, about
3,000 entered our country. Today, the Ministry of Unification says that more than 20,000 defectors will
becomeSouthKoreancitizens.Eventhoughtheyhavetherighttolivehere,itistoldthatmoreandmoreare
leaving South Korea. They seek asylum or illegally stay in different countries, hiding the fact that they are
Koreancitizens.
Some claim that the North Korean defectors feel no shame after reaping the benefits given to them as
refugees.However,weshouldrememberthatthedefectorsfirsthadahopeoflivingabetterlifethanbefore
in a country foreign to them, South of Korea. We should think about our help and efforts to accommodate
them.Takingalookatmenovertheageof15fromNorthKorea,only44.9percenthavejobs,andthosewho
dohavejobsusuallyworkunderpoorworkingconditions,withmorethanhalfofthemhiredasdaylaborers
or for menial labor. In addition, 60.2 percent of North Korean defectors’ income is below the poverty level,
givingthembarelyenoughmoneytoliveon.Mostofall,theworstdifficultyoftheirlivingcircumstancesis
ordinarySouthKoreans’lackofunderstandingandcare.
Furthermore, according to the data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, more than a 1,000
NorthKoreanshavepetitionedtheUnitedKingdom(U.K.)forhelpinstayingabroad.Amongthem,about70
percentarecitizensoftheSouthKorea.Inresponse,theU.K.governmentrequestedasolutionfromtheSouth
Koreangovernment,andsoithasbecomeaninternationalproblemforustosolve.Theproblemevenextends
as far to Norway. In Norway, there was an incident in which 20 North Korean defectors were deported.
Considering even just these two cases, the data clearly show that there are hundreds of people who have
nowhereelsetosettledown.
North and South Koreans share deep ties in terms of ethnicity, culture, and history. Even though the
division between the South and the North has separated the Koreas politically, it should not be grounded
for discrimination. Of course, defectors try to reap as much benefit as they can from the South Korean
government’s largesse, but at present, the most important matter seems to be the South Korean mindset of
exclusion. Why does it have to be so hard for us to get along with each other and thank our North Korean
kin for the hard work they do in our country? In order to seek harmony with others and not only amongst
ourselves,wehavetoopenourmindsaboutNorthKoreandefectorsandadoptmorepositiveattitudestowards
themthanwehavetoday.
pourquoi@hufs.ac.kr
Lawrence Lessig, Professor of the Stanford Law
School. Like his word, entering information-
oriented society, importance of copyright
increasingdaybyday.
www.theargus.org

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