A reclusive state under a leadership that
deprives its citizens of basic needs and rights,
which continues to isolate itself from the
rest of the world.
It seems only natural to want to escape from
North Korea.
However, among those who risk their lives
to cross the border to freedom and democracy...
there are those who opt to return to the hermit
kingdom.
For our news features tonight, Kim Hyesung
takes a closer look at why some choose to
make the intriguing choice.
Lim Ji-hyun, a North Korean defector who fled
to the South in 2014 and became a TV personality,
disappeared in China in April.
Then in early July, Lim appeared in a North
Korean video, tearfully saying her life in
the capitalist South was like hell.
"There was only physical and psychological
pain."
As of this year, more than 30-thousand North
Korean defectors have re-settled in the South.
Now she's one of around 25 North Korean defectors
who re-defected to the North in the last five
years.
"Behind me is North Korea, one of the most
reclusive states in the world.
Many North Korean defectors risk their lives,
crossing the river border with China, then
making the long trek through third countries
like Vietnam, Laos, or Thailand to reach the
South.
So why would anyone want to leave the bustling,
wealthy South Korea to return to a life of
repression in the North?"
Lee Ju-song, a North Korean defector who came
to the South ten years ago says adjusting
to life here wasn't easy.
"When I first came to Seoul, I was shocked
that even the language we use is different.
South Koreans use a lot of words combined
with English, like hana-mart, making day to
day communication difficult."
Upon arrival, North Korean defectors go through
extensive debriefing, and months of the Hanawon
resettlement program, where they learn about
the differences between the North and South.
After the program, each defector receives
a rental apartment, and government subsidies.
But for many defectors, not all that money
goes into their pockets.
"Since 2012, Kim Jong-un has tightened border
security.
Broker fees have soared, now it's around 14,000
U.S. dollars.
Not many North Koreans can afford that, so
most are in debt upon arrival in the South
and need to pay money back to smugglers in
China."
Economic hardship is one difficulty, with
the unemployment rate three times higher for
North Koreans than South Koreans, but family
separation and discrimination is a bigger
problem for those resettling in the South.
"Yes, I struggled financially, doing hard
labor for many hours a day.
My daughter also had a tough time, her classmates
bullied her and called her a 'commie' for
being a North Korean defector.
But we were able to bear through it because
we were here together as a family."
Not all defectors are lucky like Mr. Lee,
as many North Korean defectors leave behind
their families, feeling a sense of guilt,
and worrying about their safety.
25
"It's actually quite normal for North Koreans
to think about going back.
They are still tied to the North emotionally
and economically.
Many maintain contact through brokers in China,
and more than half of them send back money
to their relatives in the North.
North Korean agents take advantage of this,
blackmailing them, using relatives in the
North as hostages.
Around 90% of the few North Koreans who re-defect
to the North are tricked by the brokers or
kidnapped."
57-year-old Kim Seung-chul, who came to the
South in 1994, runs a radio station that broadcasts
to the North two hours a day.
"I've met numerous defectors over the last
two decades.
The hardest thing is the ideological differences.
North Koreans have lived in a totalitarian
system.
You do what you are told to do, and become
passive.
But in the South, you work with your free
will and get compensated.
This freedom, capitalism itself, is a new
concept."
Kim says it took himself more than six years
to adjust, and it's an on-going process.
"But you see how some re-defected to the South
again, it's because after going back to North
Korea, they realize they can't stand the censorship
and economic hardship."
Lee Ju-song, who hopes to pay back all his
debt and make his farming business a success,
says given a choice of going to Europe, the
U.S. or South Korea, he would still choose
to come to the South.
"In the North, it's all about control.
If they hit you, you just get beaten, if they
throw you something on the ground to eat,
you just eat it.
Here, there is opportunity, you get as much
as you put in.
But for North Koreans, we have no school,
regional connections or blood ties.
On top of that, we face discrimination.
I am grateful that I'm here, but it makes
it that much difficult to adjust to the society."
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.
