SEOUL, South Korea — FOR years, thousands of North Koreans have been sneaking across the border into China to escape oppression. The Chinese authorities routinely hunt down defectors and return them to North Korea, where they face torture, forced labor, life in a prison camp or even public execution.

This past year much has been written about the people fleeing the Middle East for Europe. The world should also pay attention to the North Korean refugee crisis, and to the desperation that drives it. North Koreans are forced to work at state jobs in a moribund economy. Countless parents watch their children go to bed hungry. Many North Korean families feel they have no option but to try to escape.

In 1997, I defected as a naïve 17-year-old girl who simply wanted to explore the world. I was fortunate to live on the border with China and could pick up Chinese TV channels, which opened my eyes. I stole into China, where I remained in hiding for more than 10 years, and eventually found my way to South Korea.

As many as 200,000 defectors are living secretly in China. The Chinese government considers them illegal immigrants — even though they are refugees. As a signatory to the United Nations convention on refugees, China is obligated to not repatriate them, yet it cooperates with North Korea to find defectors and even pays its citizens for turning them in.