A unified Korean Peninsula is something we

all dream about. But what do the experts think that process will look like?

It’s time for “Unification Table Talk” where we interview experts in

this field.

Since Kim Jong Un rose to power, border

regions have been buttoned up and escape routes have been blocked off as part

of a crackdown effort that has halved the number of defectors who are able to

reach South Korea compared to years past. Although this is a dramatic

reduction, some defectors do still manage to slip through the net in order to

start their new lives here in South Korea. At the present moment, there are

nearly 30 thousand such defectors in South Korea.

On this edition of “Unification Table Talk,”

we sit down with Hanawon Director Kim Jung Tae to discuss what defectors do in

order to acclimate to their new surroundings and what the government is doing

to help ease the transition. Hanawon is an agency dedicated to assisting

defectors adjust to their new lives in South Korea. It is funded and organized

by the Ministry of Unification.

1. Right now how many defectors are living

in South Korea?

There are approximately 28 thousand people

from North Korea living here right now.

2. What kind of trends do we see these days

in terms of defectors entering South Korea?

In the 1990s, about one thousand people

came per year. That doubled in the 2000s when about 1,500-2,000 people came per

year. It jumped again in 2009 to its highest figure at 2,914. After that it

started to come down again to about 1,500/year. Last year we saw about 1,396

people enter the country.

2-1. The graph looks like it’s revealing a

downwards curve….

That’s right. This year in the last three

months, only about 300 people have come in.

2-2. Why do you think so many defectors

were able to escape in 2009?

At that time there were a few instances of

government level officials sneaking out and taking a large amount of people

with them. That ended up being the most we’d ever gotten.

3. Once the defectors come to South Korea,

what kind of processes are in place to help them settle here in South Korean

society?

In some cases, there are planned entrances,

in which case the government will be duly informed. But in most instances, the

defectors volunteer themselves to the North Korean Defector Resident Protection

Services Center at the National Intelligence Service. At that facility, the

residents are interviewed and researched for approximately one month. After

that point, they are sent to the Hanawon facility, where they get three months

of training in basic adaptation techniques. Then they are assigned to rented apartments

in different regions throughout the city. Once they move into their new

apartments, we show them our local assistance center. That’s where they will

continue to get detailed advice about making their new lives.

4. I think we can all agree just how

important it is that these defectors get settled and adapted to life here in

South Korea. In your experience, what is the most difficult element of that

transition for them?

They have a lot of struggles, honestly. To

express their feelings on the matter, there’s an expression. It goes, “In North

Korea, we starve. In 3rd countries, we don’t know the language.

When we come to South Korea, we don’t know how to live.” As the director of

Hanawon, I can certainly understand what they mean by this. It has been 70

years since our country has been divided. That means three or four generations

of living apart from one another.

Now, we’re still the same people, still cut

from the same cloth, so we look the same and can understand each other to a

degree, but we’ve grown up in totally different sociopolitical circumstances.

If you look at it from a cultural perspective, South Korea is like a totally

different country to defectors. I think that’s the most accurate way to sum up

their view on things.

4-1. So even though we share the same

language, there are still cultural differences which present challenges for the

defectors. I’ve also heard some people say that South Koreans tend to use a lot

of English loan words, and that adapting to South Korean dialects can be

tricky.

Through the process of becoming exposed to

the globalized world, South Korea has started using an abundant amount of

foreign words and concepts with a high frequency. There’s also a slight

prejudice against those who speak pure Korean without dropping in these trendy

words and ideas from other cultures.

For example, instead of “chae-so,”

North Koreans say “nam-sae” for vegetable, and instead of “Ga-gae,” North

Koreans say “sang-jeom” for store. So then they come here anticipating that

they’ve finally come to a place outside North Korea where they can express

themselves comfortably, and they are confronted with a really different

dialect, pickled with alien words and phrases. The ensuing attempt to

understand and be understood can be quite stressful for them.

5. It must be difficult to adjust to life

here. Just to review, Hanawon is an agency dedicated to assisting defectors

adjust to their new lives in South Korea. It is funded and organized by the

Ministry of Unification. What kind of education and support does Hanawon give

to the defectors?

Defectors start their new lives with us at

Hanawon. It’s no exaggeration to say that. In truth, the defectors have

successfully made it to the South in body, but in spirit they’re still

struggling in terms of reconciling their values, emotions, and cultural

expectations with the new surroundings they suddenly find themselves in.

Until they overcome these struggles, they haven’t completely escaped.

At Hanawon, it’s our responsibility to

understand this, and bearing it in mind, train them with the best coping

mechanisms we can find. In just about 400 hours, we have to give them an

understanding of South Korean society, and since many of them are going to

start working life shortly after release from Hanawon, we have to give them

career guidance about working life expectations and job hunting as well. That’s

why we devote about ¾ of our time together to those sorts of issues. In the

remaining time, we discuss emotional stability, health maintenance, and

cultural differences.

6. Do men, women, and children receive

different training?

First of all, we send women who come with

their families to a dedicated facility in Anseong. They get their education

together over there. We send the men to Hwacheon Hanawon. We specialize the

programs to our trainees. We try to match up the program’s characteristics to

the needs of their specific population. Elementary school kids go to the nearby

Samjuk Elementary School for their education. The middle school kids are

educated separately in separate school called the HanaDuel School inside the

Hanawon complex. They start out there getting their most basic education and

then when their placement gets settled, they can move out to one of many different

regions.

7. What kind of policies does the South

Korean government have in terms of supporting and assisting the defectors? When

they first arrive, I imagine they’d need some financial support. What kind of

fiscal policies are in place to support that?

When they first come here, we really try to

educate them in means for self reliance. We think that’s the best way to get

settled and adjusted. So the first thing they need to do when they come here is

find a job. So we have a job placement program. We also have job training, and

once they do find themselves employed we also offer employment bonuses. We also

try to recognize and consider what sort of skills and work experiences the

defectors have had in North Korea and 3rd countries. Then we try to land them

an opportunity in that field. And because we recognize that acclimating to the

South Korean work style can be difficult, the government is extending the work

protection duration from two years to three.

During this work protection time, the government

offers support, assistance, and legal protections to the workers. We also know

that getting started here can be an expensive prospect, so we have created

something called the “Future Happiness Fund.” It’s a government supported

savings plan. The government matches the donations of the defector, so inside

five years it’s possible to save up about KRW 50 million won (USD ~45,000).

That fund is now being installed for the long term benefit of defectors.

7-1. I can see how that could significantly

improve their ability to adapt. I think a lot of our listeners in North Korea

will be curious about the housing situation. Can you speak a bit about that?

We have leased apartments available for the

residents in different regions all over. This is extremely helpful for the

defectors, but it also places some limitations. Unfortunately we can’t provide

housing in the far out and rural regions such as Sanchon. So they tend to

settle down in areas with concentrated apartment complexes. The application

process in place for securing these apartments is a bit different from the way

that most South Koreans procure a house. We use this advantage to try to ensure

that our defectors have a place to call home as soon as they leave Hanawon.

8. Every defector has different financial

capabilities and resources, different social experiences, and different levels

of adaptation ability. On that basis, there are some who argue that the support

policies in place should customize to each individual. Would that kind of

policy be possible in your opinion?

I’m not so sure. Considering we are now

nearing 30 thousand defectors living here in South Korea, individualized

support services would be an awfully difficult agenda to put into action. As I

said before, we do customize our support services by gender and age, including

school level. In terms of individualized support, there are volunteers at each

regional Hana support center who work one on one with the defectors and fulfill

that role.

8-1. I imagine that the psychological

adaptation must be difficult and time consuming. Are there any specific support

services aimed at easing the transition?

We run an emotional support program to help

the defectors while they are at the Hanawon intake facility. Once they leave,

we have a mentoring system that is administered through the Hana regional

offices. This way, they always have someone close by to give advice and lend an

ear. They help the defectors overcome some of the emotional and psychological

difficulties through a long term personal relationship.

9. However, as you know, some defectors

have actually elected to live in a 3rd country after coming and spending some

time in Korea. What do you think prevented them from being able to successfully

adapt to South Korean society?

There are myriad different stories and

explanations for one defectors choose to leave after arriving in South Korea,

but the majority of these cases have to do with misunderstandings that arise

from cultural differences. In North Korea, they had no experience at all with

the concept of freedom. Some think that freedom simply means the ability to do

as they please. This can lead to some impetuous behavior that ends up causing

difficulties. So these particular individuals feel a sense of disappointment

when they realize that freedom does not mean that you can do whatever you want

whenever you want.

They end up leaving because they suspect it

might be better someplace else. Over half of them return after realizing that

that really isn’t the case. Looking back at these cases, I think there is a

demonstrated need to establish some preventative measures to clear up these

kind of confusions before they even happen.

10. Yes, it does seem like there should be

a plan in plan along those lines. What kind of policies does the government

have in place to help the defectors who have trouble adapting?

As I said, I think that those preventative

measures need to be built into the education process at Hanawon. When the

defectors choose to leave South Korea, they lose all of the benefits that they

had been enjoying. Some of them don’t realize this, so I think that they should

be warned about that as well during their education at Hanawon. When I give

lectures at Hanawon about settlement procedures and advice, I’m sure to give

them specific examples about what the consequences are for those who elect to

leave. It really isn’t a very attractive alternative. So even if the temptation

arises it’s best to stick it out.

11. I wonder what your evaluation is of

South Korea’s defector support policies.

First off, considering I’m an involved

party and a beneficiary of these laws, I think there are definitely some

limitations to how objectively I’m able to evaluate the policies in question. I

think that these policies have a profound impact on the way that the defectors

settle and on their ability to adapt to their new lives here.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about

what obstacles prevent defectors from adjusting to South Korean working life. I

think it is related to the way that South Koreans and defectors think about one

another. I wrote my doctoral thesis on this topic in 2014. I came out of that

writing process thinking that cash contributions aimed at helping defectors

resettle are not entirely positive things. I think that the cash contributions

avoid the heart of the problem and reflect the prejudices that South Koreans

hold about defectors. I think that ultimately that sort of policy has an

adverse effect. It discourages and damages the ability and will of defectors to

make a happy life here.

A large number of South Koreans believe

that excessive monetary support is actually a hindrance to the defectors’ will

and ability to adapt and resettle. There has been word that this has caused

problems for South Koreans as well, but the truth is that most defectors use

the resources we allocate to go on to live healthy, productive lives. It is

true that a small minority are looking to take advantage of the system by

avoiding hard working and soaking up as many benefits as possible. You might

view this as a flaw in the system.

12. What is the most important aspect of

the policies that support defectors?

The most important thing to do is to equip

these individuals with the skills and knowledge necessary to adjust to life

here in South Korea. This kind of effort contributes to an optimistic portrayal

of life in South Korea that the defectors can relay to their families in the

North. Secondly, I think helping the defectors to live productive working and

social lives in South Korea will help South Koreans have a positive view of

them.

We talk a lot about how unification is

coming and what we need to do to be prepared for that, but helping the current

generation of defectors adjust to life here forms the basis of a model that can

be used down the line. That’s why it is so important to create and sustain an

environment that is mutually beneficial to defectors and South Koreans. The

future of unification depends on it.

13. In the future, we can expect even

larger amounts of defectors to arrive here. What steps can average South

Koreans make in order to smooth the transition for these defectors?

It takes two to tango, doesn’t it? And we

have a saying that habits that you pick up as a child tend to continue on

through old age. It’s certainly true that North Koreans have to work hard in

order to learn and lead prosperous lives here, but I think that us South Koreans

also have a responsibility to contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance,

understanding, and collaboration. Understanding and forgiveness are the most

attractive attitudes for South Koreans to take with regards to assisting our

defector friends.

13-1. Director Kim, I’d like to ask you a

personal question. You were the director of Hanawon’s Elementary School program

from 1999 to 2001. I’m curious about that experience. What was the most

difficult experience? What was the most rewarding?

I believe that my time as director of that

elementary program was the most fruitful and rewarding period of my

33-year-long professional life. Before starting that job, I was working at the

Ministry of Health and Welfare on unification preparedness. I was then transferred

to the Ministry of Unification. Before working at Hanawon, I was the section

chief of resettlement support services. After my appointment to the elementary

school program, I was tasked with handling over 3,000 students. I feel a

special connection and affection for those students, even to this day. They

contact me from time to time and I’m able to give them advice about this and

that. It is just such a rewarding job.

13-2. We’ve all seen that you are likely

the foremost expert on defector resettlement and it’s clear that you are

working hard to help these defectors. Given your experiences and position, I’m

curious about what your thoughts and predictions are about the future,

especially as they relate to unification and North Korea.

My hope is that unification will cease to

be merely a talking point and an impossible wish. Let’s work to bring separated

families together as fast as we possibly can. Let’s start a unification process

that is centered on helping people, rather than one built on national ideology.

While it is true that the government has its work to do, every single person is

capable of making a small contribution. This important task of making

unification a reality is not the task of politicians in faraway places, but

rather the duty of everyday South Koreans.

This has been “Unification Table Talk.”

Today we sat down with Kim Jung-Tae, the director of Hanawon. We discussed the

mechanics behind the policies that support defectors. Mr. Director, thank you

for coming in to speak with us today.