Education first, if you care - By Chaewon Lim

Every adolescent, including those in North Korea, experiences the pain of growth as he or she is forced to face reality. As I had recently gone through a 6 month long, gloomy phase of hesitation before gaining up my will and firmly deciding to break through the reality head-on, I know very well the pain of growing up. Thus, when I was contemplating on the topic for this essay, the first thought that came into my mind was the state of adolescents of North Korea. 

 

   Growth is not a choice. At some point or another, a young bird grows big enough to break out of its egg. At the moment of the break, two forces act on the bird’s mind: one, to break free, and two, to stay cozy inside, although uncomfortable. I thought that the North Korean teenagers go through a more painful process in growing up than South Korean teens, because they are educated that everything inside the egg is good, and everything outside is bad. However, research on "Life and Development of Adolescents in North Korea," by professor Min SK of Yonsei University, based on interviews with North Korean adolescent defectors and a questionnaire from adult defectors, concluded otherwise. The research states that in North Korea, “Identity crises, which so often characterize the adolescent period, seem not to be so turbulent, and develop later and finish early with resignation, because of the limitations mainly imposed by the political status of their family origin.” Additionally, a Youtube video made last year in North Korea titled, "Life in the People's Paradise of the DPRK", showed a girl of my age who was more than satisfied with her life in North Korea. It struck me for the first time that the teenagers in North Korea might not have as much concern or suffer as much uncertainty as South Korean adolescents. 

I acknowledge that North Korean teenagers could be happier than South Korean teenagers in their forced bliss of ignorance. However, I believe that such happiness is not genuine and is easy to break, and that when it breaks, will bring about severe distress. In the TED speech by Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean defector, Lee told her story of how she opened her eyes to the reality of her country after her mother’s friend’s family all died of hunger. Although her fantasy and happiness broke with distress, because of the realization, she was able to find her way out of North Korea and live an adventurous life in search of meaning and genuine happiness. Thus, a proper, unbiased education is central for the North Korean adolescents.

"My Escape from North Korea"- TED, Hyeonseo Lee

If only possible, I wish to help adolescents like me in North Korea. I would tell them about good books that had healed me at hard times, and the songs that I love. However, giving direct help in the education of North Korean adolescents is virtually impossible. Thus, realizable efforts must be done by the South Korean government to provide better education at least for the North Korean defectors in South Korea, and to reduce the educational gap when and if the Koreas are unified.

There are increasingly many North Korean defectors in South Korea. A large proportion of them are in their adolescence. From 1998 until December 2012, of the total of 23,879 defectors, 16,773(70%) were middle school and high school students(Statistics from the Ministry of Education Homepage). However, there are very few specialized schools for the defectors in South Korea. The Hangyoere Middle& High School is the only public school exclusively for North Korean defectors. It is a school to help young defectors to adapt to the South Korean society, not only by providing academics but also by engaging the students in various activities such as drama class and sports, providing psychological counseling, and even medical treatment. Before being thrown into a completely different educational and social environment, students at the Hangyoere School get a chance to adapt to the atmosphere and prepare themselves. With increasing numbers of North Korean defectors, I believe that the South Korean government should fund the establishment of more specialized schools for defectors. 

"High School for North Korean Defectors"- Youtube

Education in North Korea is falling behind both in content and environment. In the Youtube video, “North Korea: A Day in the Life”, there is a scene in a North Korean kindergarten. The teacher tells a group of children the story of Kim Jung-il’s boyhood, the core of the narrative being Kim’s charitable nature. Other teachers evaluate the teacher on the effectiveness of her deliverance of the “message,” and later, give advice on what details to emphasize, for example, that Kim Jeong-il lived “exactly the same way as his comrades did when he was young.” As in this example, education in North Korea is not free from brainwashing. Moreover, the educational environment is poor. According to an article from The New York Times, since the 1990’s after a famine, most schools were deprived, and possibly are still deprived, of “heating fuel, adequate food rations and school supplies.” There is also the problem of “unruly mobilization of students,” which is making students gather fuel and fertilizer for the school during school hours, instead of providing them with proper education. 

Considering such limits of North Korean education, the South Korean government should prepare an educational program that starts from elementary education for North Koreans, to facilitate the reduction of educational gap when and if the Koreas unify. Furthermore, the South Korean government should have an open minded attitude about education, since there are also aspects that South Korean education can learn from that of North Korea, such as preservation of pure Korean language. 

At this moment, nearer to me than my family by distance, a North Korean girl may be lying on her bed, looking up at the picture of Kim Il-sung on the wall, and feeling happy. She might have had the incipient signs of cracks in the egg that she probably had buried in her heart as a nightmare; but I believe that tiny cracks are sensitive enough to respond to a stimulus and eventually break open the egg. Efforts must be done to improve education for North Koreans in South Korea, at least to give the hope that in the near future, the efforts will spread out to reach the girl in North Korea.