A Tale of Two Languages: Hangul and Chosono - By Nayeon Kim

I was eating dinner. Only eating, I was not speaking at all. My coworkers were talking very freely and friendlily. They were not oppressed by anything. They did not look like people who joined this company a month ago. They were living in their world, their South Korean world.

Our superior, who was eating dinner with us, said something and my coworkers started to introduce themselves. They said their name, something about their family, and about their hobbies. Someone said that his favorite food was pizza. What could a pizza be? I have never heard of a food called pizza.

When the person sitting next to me finished introducing himself, it was my turn. I had to say something. I wished not to say anything at the dinner table because my accent would reveal my identity. Even though many of them already knew that I was a North Korean, I did not want to tell this with my own lips. Unfortunately, I had to speak with my awkward South Korean accent.

“My name is Lee Hyeon… No, Yi Hyeon-Jin.”

I made a mistake again. My name was not Lee Hyeon-Jin, but Yi Hyeon-Jin. South Koreans never used the family name Lee; it was their grammar. They called this rule the “initial sound law (dueumbupchik),” which states that when the [li] sound comes at the beginning of a word, this sound should change to [i]. I had to think one more time even before saying my name.

 “I like to play soccer with my dongmus (dongmu: Korean for “comrade”). My dongmus are very good soccer players.”

My coworkers and my superior looked at me suspiciously. Using their facial expressions, they said “I cannot understand you.” What a catastrophe. I should have not said “dongmu” when referring to a friend, because South Koreans use chingu (Korean for “friend”) to refer the same thing. I heard that in South Korea, because the word “dongmu” contains a communist connotation, this word is no longer used to refer a friend.

I said lots of more things, and I finally finished my long self-introduction. I finished, but failed the “South Korean Language Test.” They could not understand me, and I could not understand them. The discrepancy between languages was so great that I experienced difficulties even when introducing myself.

Before Korea was partitioned, there were many regional dialects which slightly differed from others. When Korea was partitioned after the Korean War, South Korea chose the Seoul dialect as the standard, but North Korea heavily based their language on the Pyongyang dialect. Even though these two dialects differed before the partition of Korea, their difference was not as great as the difference between North and South Korean language today.

The language of North and South Korea began to greatly differ when North Korea made a new rule for Hangul orthography (“Chosono Choljabop”) in 1954. The rule itself contained only minor changes from the “Proposal for Unified Korean Orthography (Hangul Matchumbeop Tongiran),” the original rule for Korean orthography made in 1933 by the Korean Language Society. After this rule was made, North Koreans started to call their language “Chosono,” setting their language apart from the South Korean “Hangul.”

Affected by the Juche idea, Kim-Il-Sung started to alter the North Korean language by issuing rules such as “A Number of Issues on the Development of the Korean Language” (1964), “In Rightly Advancing the Racial Characteristics of the Korean Language” (1966) and “Standard Korean Language” (1966). The language changing process in North Korea was administered by the National Language Revision Committee, which was under the control of the North Korean government. New rules were still made in the 21^st century, like “Standard Spacing Rules in Writing Korean” (2000) and “Rules for Spacing in Writing Korean” (2003).

As a result, Hangul and Chosono became very different languages. Many words derived from English vocabulary or Chinese characters were changed to pure Korean in Chosono. These words were changed because of the Juche idea, which insists that using vocabulary derived from English or Chinese harms perfect autonomy. Moreover, some words look the same but differ in meaning because of the different political setting of North and South Korea. For instance, the word “dongmu” meant “friend” in Hangul, but the same word means “comrade” in Chosono, meaning a friend in the communist context. Hangul and Chosono also became different in accent, pitch, spacing, pronunciation, and orthography.

The differences between Hangul and Chosono are causing unexpected problems. North Korean defectors are experiencing difficulties when adapting to South Korean society because their accent is different from that of South Koreans. Because Hangul and Chosono have very different accents, almost every South Korean can immediately recognize a North Korean by his accent. Furthermore, North Koreans only understand about 60% of the South Korean language. Moreover, if the difference between these languages increases, North and South Koreans can easily lose their sense of kinship because they lose a crucial bonding element called language. If Hangul and Chosono were not so different, the North Korean defector would have experienced less or no difficulties when introducing himself at a dinner.

North and South Koreans were originally the same ethnic group, so they shared their language. The ancestors of North and South Koreans lived in a same nation called the Chosun dynasty. However, because the discrepancy between Hangul and Chosono increased and increased, North and South Koreans no longer think the other one as the same ethnic group. To North Koreans, South Koreans are people who use a language that they cannot understand. To South Koreans, North Koreans are people who changed their language to serve their ideology. They cannot understand each other. They cannot properly introduce themselves. The bridge between North and South Koreans are blocked; they cannot communicate.

<Sources>

Hyeonseo Lee: My escape from North Korea

Korean Language: Differences Between North and South

North Korea: A day in the life

North–South differences in the Korean language

Crossing the Borders of Heaven - By Wonshik Shin

Crossing the Borders of Heaven

<The Defector: Escape From North Korea (Preview)>

            

     Imagine a young woman living with a son who was born with a crippled leg. She barely makes a living as a prostitute, enduring all the shamefulness and humiliation. One day, she makes a plan to take a long journey to get out of the horrible environment. She makes up a fake ID card, and uses it to get on the airplane alone, risking her life as well as that of her relatives and acquaintances. When she arrives at her destination, she cries in despair, accepting the gloom reality of discrimination and unfair opportunities rather than hopefulness and better living conditions. Miraculously, she somehow settles down as a new-comer and then brings her child by means of desperate begging, bribery, and all sorts of risky actions. At last, she overcomes the difficulties regarding discrimination and finally lives happily with her son.

    








Isn’t this a moving and breathtaking story that you would expect to be the plot of a dramatic movie or a book? Well, there could be similar cases in movies or books, but the very story mentioned above is the actual real-life story of a female North Korean defector. I got to know this touching story of the woman by watching a documentary film called Crossing the Boarders of Heaven. Released in 2011, this Rory Peck Award-winning documentary depicts the desperate lives and living environments of the 9 North Korean refugees who were on their way to the South Korea. Most of the defectors in the film were women in poor living environments with socially belittled jobs like prostitutes, baby-sitters or street salespeople, who had at last succeeded in living a happy life with freedom and economic stableness.

     However, the defectors who starred in the documentary are minor exceptions: we must keep in mind that there many more defectors who do not make it to the South. Many are caught and sent back to North Korea, where they might be jailed, publically executed, or put into prison camp. When the forced return of a number of North Korean defectors was a big moral issue in Korea about a year ago, I had a chance to have a conversation about the defectors with a Chinese. I was stunned by the fundamental difference of Korea and China in the attitudes toward the issue. She told me that it is absurd for the Korean press to be making a huge fuss. She believed that it was China's obligation for North Korea as allies to send back the illegal defectors. Although I cannot generalize her thoughts to be that of the whole Chinese population, I felt the unlikeliness of convincing China with the values of human rights of the defectors, since they perceive this issue very differently.

 North Korean refugee watches her mother being dragged by Chinese policemen 
when her family attempted to flee to the Japanese Consulate.

     Perceiving the inhumanness and seriousness of this issue, South Korea should take more action to save North Korean defectors from their terrible living conditions. The first solution to this heartbreaking situation is to give informal support to the defectors in China through non-governmental organizations and religious organizations. It is extremely difficult to give formal help to the defectors who are stuck in China due to the Chinese government’s pressure on Korea. Because China is allies with North Korea as well as the South, it is unable to reflect the demands of South Korea only; it also needs to listen to the North, who demands the immediate return of the defectors by force. Other than diplomatic problems, there are problems regarding the huge difference in beliefs of Chinese and Koreans. Just like the woman whom I had a discussion with, a huge part of the Chinese population believes that North Korean defectors are criminals who committed treason against their own nation simply because they did not follow the orders of their country and fled. Thus, it is clear that we cannot provide open support to North Korean defectors. Another way to indirectly help the defectors is to improve the environments of autonomous areas of ethnic Koreans in China (a.k.a. “Chosun-jok"), where a huge population of defectors hide themselves - disguised as “Chosun-jok”s. For instance, we could build small, secret “protect homes” for North Korean defectors in those regions.

     In addition, the next solution is the South Korean government giving various institutional supports to the North Korean defectors living in Korea. In many cases, defectors are harshly mistreated even in South Korea as well; they find it almost impossible to assimilate  into the culture and very different living environments. Besides, most defectors who are willing to settle down start with almost no money at all. Thus, it is crucial that the South Korean government not only try to help refugees stuck in China, but also help the ones already in South Korea. One way that the government can aid the defectors is to establish lifelong educational institutes and provide decent education on English and other subjects that are necessary in getting stable jobs. Also, the government should make effort to change the attitudes of its citizens when treating North Korean defectors. Most South Koreans still find it difficult to recognize the defectors as South Korean citizens who truly belong to the society; they tend to alienate and discriminate the defectors. Therefore, the government should try to change this social atmosphere by promoting nation-wide campaigns and encouraging friendship-building activities. 

     In Dante’s Divine Comedy, there is a place that is somewhere in between the concept of heaven and hell: purgatory. Purgatory is a place where the souls of sinners (those who are not ‘sinful’ enough to go to hell) temporarily stay to atone for their sins before finally going to heaven. Today, there are many people -not souls, but human beings -who go through these    procedures before arriving at their final destination of what is expected to be a heavenly place. They are not that far away: the suffering North Korean defectors are the ones currently in the state of “purgatory.” There is an old adage, “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” The North Korean defectors have tried every humanly possible way to help themselves to live a humane life. All they want is a happy life with their basic human rights kept. It’s time that we take action and give institutional support to North Korean defectors to show them the “stairway to heaven”. 

Sources

"China has repatriated North Korean defectors, South Korean official says."

“China’s envoy deflects calls to help defectors.”

“North Koreans face adjustment problems in South Korea”

“The Problem of North Korean Refugees in China and Possible Solutions.”

“Life in South Hard for North Koreans.”
"North Korea's Underground Railroad to Freedom"

The First one to Apologize Has It All - By Sumin Jang

As a child, I was taught “The one to apologize first is the one to win.” So since I was six, I became friendlier with the word “sorry” and in whatever fight I got in, the victory was mine. Well of course I didn’t apologize without any reason (that would be lacking too much sincerity), I thought apologizing was the first step in untying the knot of misconception.

For 65 years North Korea and South Korea has been wrestling, like two little kids in a silly arm-wrestling match that yields no winners in the end. After drawing a line on the waist of a tiny country, we have been threatening each other to make Seoul and Pyongyang into a “sea of flames.” However, who is "South Korea"? Is it the South Korean government?  Or is it the military, president, or the people of South Korea? There is no correct answer to this question, but I know there is something better than figuring out who “South Koreans” are. That is, to end the fight in the first place. How? By fixing the misconceptions between North and South microscopically. I think it is time for us, individuals, to change our thoughts, offer the handshake of peace, and win this game by changing South Korea inside out.  

“U.S. official: North Korea could test firemissiles at any time”- this was the title of the head article posted on the CNN website on April 10, 2013. On the same day, the day that professionals assumed most likely for the missile to be launched, I have been asked the same question from the moment I woke up, until the instant I went back to sleep. The question my roommates, classmates and teachers asked me was, “Does your dad really say there is going to be an attack today?” (My dad works for the South Korean Army) I obviously couldn’t answer any of the questions, because I never actually asked my dad, but I realized that the huge amount of questions I received told me something about our conception towards North Korea. We actually feared North Korea for their aggressive attitude and provocation.

However, where is the provocation exactly coming from? Is it Kim Jung Un? Perhaps the news anchors with the threatening tone? Or the citizens in North Korea? Well, I certainly think it is not the citizens we fear and hate. Therefore, there should be no obstacle in changing our perspective towards the individuals in the North. In fact, I have a personal experience of meeting one, and even building a relationship with her family.  

When I was in nine years old and living in the states, I was lucky enough to meet a nine-year-old girl from North Korea. One night, I have even been invited to her house, to join her for supper with her entire North Korean family. It was only a few months after realizing that she was not just a “Korean” but actually a “North Korean.” For about two years, we went to the same school, lived in the same neighborhood, waved hands passing by, and became close enough to call each other friends. Nevertheless, it was on the day of “International fairs”, that I figured out her nationality after saw her under the North Korean flag, selling “Pyongyang dumplings.” It took me quite a while to digest the situation but I eventually overcame my internal dilemma and decided to keep her in my boundary of close friends. As close friends, we had “sleep-over” at each other’s houses’, our mothers arranged play-dates together, and we shared homemade dishes at potlucks. In addition, there are so many other memories, all of which switched an enemy into a potential friend.

         The most common misconception, perhaps, towards the North Koreans is that the people are all brainwashed by the government. Therefore, they can’t consider the South Koreans or any foreigners as friends. However, there is a counter example to this claim. The most famous case is that of James Joseph Dresnok, American defector to North Korea who defected at the age of 21. The documentary film “Crossing the line” shows Dresnok’s life in North Korea as an American. Here in the documentary, Dresnok introduces his North Korean “buddies” with whom he enjoys fishing and smoking together with.

         I remember watching a TED video in class, about an Israeli poster designer who was issued for uniting Israel and Iran with a poster saying “WE Israelis love Iranians” As an individual, he managed to open the gate of communication between the people of the two fighting countries, and all he did was post a poster on Facebook . Due to this, enemies started contacting each other one-to-one, chatting online, and becoming friends, clearing out misconceptions and hatred they have had for such a long time. 

Although directly communicating with the North Koreans through Facebook doesn’t seem realistic, changing our perspectives or clarifying the misconception we have with the North Koreans is just about enough for now. Henceforth, South Korea will start changing inside-out, and when the change turns out successful, we can consider changing North Koreans inside-out as well. As I said in the beginning, even a kindergartener knows better than to fight with friends and not apologize. So I suggest that we win this. Be brave to step forward and say “Let’s be friends again.”

What I learned from a trip to Mt.Geumgang in N.K - Jung Giwon

The white tour bus stopped in front of the deluxe and pompous building with “Geum-gang Beach Hotel” named upon it, as 13-year-old boys rushed of the bus filled with excitement. I was one of those boys who attended the Mt.Geum-gang tour program held in 2008, as a lot of people wearing white uniforms stood in one row to welcome us with open arms. As the boys calmed down and stood in lines, the tour program began.

          It was the perfect tour indeed. All the schedule, services and people we’d met during the tour were so proficient that it seemed nothing could disrupt it. As young children, we made a lot of problems that could affect the program. Some of us lost things, and even lost their way during the tour. However, every problem we’d made was solved within 20 minutes, and our guidance never failed to keep us on the right program on time. The program itself was fascinating and wonderful.  Hearing the chorus, having a barbecue, and watching the beautiful autumn colors of Mt.Geum-gang were just some of the memories. With those great programs, four days out of seven-days tour passed in the blink of an eye. Everything seemed perfect, and I was so satisfied with the tour. However, the horrendous event right after the fourth day completely changed my feeling towards the program.

 It was fifth day when I got lost in the hotel while playing with my friends. On that day, we watched the performance of young children at the theater in the hotel. We were excited watching the chorus, singing and dancing. After, we had a free time before the dinner, thus we played hide-and-seek altogether. I hid in the place where we were banned to go as I thought it would be a safer place to hide from the tagger. And in there, I heard a strange sound; a little, small weeping sound came out from the one room in the banned place. At first, I just tried to ignore it focusing on the tagger. But as the sob kept coming out from the place, I became curious and tiptoed to the room to find out who is making the sound. And in the place, I saw a grievous thing- a young boy, who is just as young as I was, beaten intensely by a man who was wearing a military uniform. So surprised, I was petrified in the place. And after the embarrassment and astoundment swept my body, I barely found out that he was the one member of the choir who had the performance in front of us in the day. The reason why the boy was beat so severely, according to the soldier scolding the boy, is that he made little mistakes during the performance. I came out from the place as soon as I could, extremely careful not to making any noise at all. Since then, I couldn’t enjoy the program, and just kept quiet for the last 3 days of the tour.

 At the time, the Mt.Geum-gang tour was one of the most important national enterprises of North Korea. Getting tourists from foreign countries, it attained not only a great amount of earnings but also great promotional tools as the cultural exchange is inevitable in the tour program and the fact that the closed society like North Korea allowed the exchange that could make a great impact on aims toward peace. Just by holding the tour program, North Korea could notify the fact that it aims peace indirectly without declaring or announcing any official statement about its policy. The violence that happened during such an important program informed me that such violence is prevalent throughout the whole nation. If the soldier hit the children in the nationally important place, it definitely means that he could hit them in any places.

 Wolfgang Sofsky, a famous sociologist who wrote “The Order of Terror”, mentioned in his book “Traktat uber die Gewalt” that violence motivates society, but also makes society to collapse. Violence seemingly is an efficient tool to control society, as it makes people keep rules. However, like the word “He who suffers, remembers”, the violence incurs the suffered one’s odium. The odium, which is created by the violence, calls more violence toward other people, organizations and even toward to the society. One of the clearest examples of the accumulated odium called brutal violence is Nat Turner’s slave rebellion. The rebellion which took place in Virginia on August 21, 1831 resulted in 60 deaths and at least 100 black deaths. The violence that the whites had used against the blacks incurs the blacks’ odium, and it played a critical role in the outbreak and expansion of the rebellion. Similarly, the violence used by the North Korean government incurs the North Koreans’ odium; even though it has not erupted, it doesn’t mean the detestate is not accumulated. Some day, it will erupt and will play the important role in the collapse of the North Korean regime.

What the experience emplies is clear: violence is so common in North Korea that it is easily exposed to even a little kid. And that’s the reason why I think North Korea will collapse at last. Throughout history, there were a lot of societies which were maintained from 3 days to thousands of years. Each society has its own characteristics, but the use of violence was the main catalyst of of the social chaos of society for almost every country. Uncountable rebellions of slaves, the poor, and many other suppressed classes are good examples. I plainly believe that North Korea will not be an exception, as it uses atrocious violence and will collapse if it keeps atrociously suppressing its citizens. He who suffers, remembers.

How Should International Society Confront North Korea? - By Yongkun Lee

 Imagine ear-splitting noise shaking the body, bomb splinters flying over the head, soldiers bleeding and dead bodies lying all around the ground. Listen to the agonizing cries of the dead soldiers’ families. Death is coming right around the corner and nobody knows who the next target is. “I wish that this was all just a dream. I want to wake up in my bed, and over breakfast, I’d tell you that I had a strange dream. Then I would go to school, and you and mom would go to work.” Wonbin, a Korean actor, says in a movie named “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War.” A real war between the two Koreas would be too drastic to explain fully.

It has not been long since I became aware of the serious relationship between South and North Korea. I watched the movie “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War” about three years ago, and was reminded that the war has not yet ended. A year later, I visited the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) as a part of my middle school trip. I learned that a small attack or an incident can lead to irreversible consequences in the small peninsula. Recently, numerous unwanted events have occurred and caused the international atmosphere extremely unstable. Thus, a careful and softer approach is required for the peace of the two Koreas and the international society.

Harsh restrictions or sanctions against North Korea lead situations to be tense. Although the North Korean government has committed human rights infringements, and does not cooperate with the international society, North Korea still possesses sovereignty. Other countries are not justified for intervening with North Korea’s internal affairs. In the perspective of North Korea, interfering with its right to develop necessary technology violates its basic rights as a country. The western powers give pressure, sometimes attacking the country economically, politically, and even militarily. To stop other countries’ attempt to invade North Korea, it needs to find appropriate means of protection – developing weapons. Respect to North Korea’s independence would alleviate the wrangle between North Korea and the international society.

Around two years ago, I visited one of the four incursion tunnels which were created by North Korea to cross the DMZ. North Korea dug four tunnels that are longer than 1000m and 150m deep below the ground. The tunnels are now all blocked by several layers of thick concrete. Visiting the tunnels, I thought that if North Korea is determined to attack South Korea, it would use any possible method as it had constructed the tunnels. As North Korea has been obtaining technology through experiments to fight against major powers of the world, a small dispute may bring aggravated results. Hence, not stimulating North Korea to attack other countries has become significant. To achieve this goal, conciliatory policies, rather than sanctions or opposition against North Korea, are required.

             Some people say that harsh sanctions need to be implemented to prevent North Korea from carrying out further hazardous measures. However, a current event tells us that this approach does not solve the problems related to North Korea. On 6^th of March, North Korea announced that it was going to revoke armistice between Southand North Korea on 11^th of March. The truce signed on the 27thof July, 1953 has been in effect for the past 60 years, and prevented more wars between the two Koreas. North Korea said that the cause for the decision is the restrictions by the U.N. about the nuclear power test. It also pointed the united military training of the U.S. and South Korea as another major motivation for the announcement. North Korea, moreover, claimed that it is going to attack a country with its nuclear power. It also strongly suggested many international organizations to leave the country, saying the safety of them andsome foreign embassies will not be guaranteed beginning from 10^th of April.

What we can learn from North Korea’s behavior is that threatening, punishing, and controlling North Korea are not appropriate routes to fix problems. If countries apply more stress and pressure on North Korea, we cannot rule out the possibility of another war. It is time for the world to accept North Korea’s position and values which are little different from the others. In the trip to the DMZ, I had a chance to view a North Korean town by using binoculars. The town was not a gathering place of “evil”, but a typical suburban town that I could imagine. The farmhouses were dilapidated though. North Koreans are suffering from famine while the government is investing enormous amount of money on modern technology. International society should interact with North Korea by touching some fundamental issues of humanity rather than the North Korean legitimacy of government policies. In other words, treating North Korea as a companion, not as an enemy, is necessary for peace and stability.

Active debate about suitable solutions is going on between South Korean politicians. Before I had the two experiences mentioned above, honestly, I had somewhat idealized “war” as an “exciting” event.  However, violent and explicit scenes in “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War” and the desperateness in the film destroyed my misconception. On the middle school trip, we also received a simplified military training lesson at a camp about an hour from the DMZ area. Although the training for us was a shortened and easy version of the real one, it was extremely difficult. I felt for the first time that a real war would be painful “torture” rather than a thrilling “sport”. Now, I personally feel that the international society should use soft policies towards North Korea. Spurring North Korea through military actions would only increase the chance of violence. Even if the government continues to possess a rigid view on North Korea, it should endeavor to avoid the littlest fight at all costs. It is time to start an intelligent dialogue about how to deal with existential threats to the rest of the world from North Korea without going to war and with minimal risk.

Should the government increase the rate of the resettlement aid? - By Rihyun Kim

“As North Korea conducted its third nuclear test…” When I was watching the news on television about the third nuclear test in North Korea, my sister asked, “Why does South Korea have to help North Korea though it always attacks us?” Her question also left me with the same question. Even though nothing comes back from aggressive North Korea, South Korea still aids the other Korea. 

The two Koreas have been divided for about 60 years since the Korean War. Koreans in my generation cannot really feel a sense of intimacy toward different Koreans. One of my friends often says that North Korea is so close, yet so far due to the severance of cultural relations. However, the government still insists us to help North Korea to prepare for the vague plan of upcoming unification. Now, I partly grasp the genuine intention of a constant engagement policy, though I couldn't at first. “Korea” is still “one country” that was inevitably separated by external factors. The thing we have to focus on is the North Korea government which suppresses citizens into a corner, and not North Korea itself. North Korean citizens are at desperate conditions since they live in abysmal poverty without any freedom. Thus, numerous North Korean risk their life to cross the Apnok River (the river which lies on the border between North Korea and China).

Recently, the Ministry of Unification decided to increase the rate of resettlement aid for North Korean defectors. Resettlement aid is the subsidy provided with 19 million won (17,000 dollars) and up to an additional 21.4 million won (19,107 dollars) for defectors to assimilate into Korean society. However, numerous people cast doubts toward the government’s decision. According to the fellow of Labor Institute, resettlement policy didn't bring the expected results, but demands a large budget. Actually, the portion of resettlement aid within the Ministry’s entire budget is expected to increase due to the growing number of defectors. Moreover, several organizations, such as labor unions and organizations for disabled protested strongly against the new policy.

I personally do not agree with the decision of the government on the policy related with the resettlement aid. Though many opponents protest against this policy due to the fear of disadvantages on their organizations, I consider this problem on a different perspective.

At first, defectors need a continuous and effective assistance rather than a just short-term financial help. They usually have hardship in adjusting into the Korean society. Thus, the government is planning to increase the rate of aid to make them assimilate into the society rapidly. The government claims that defectors need more financial supports to deal with the basic needs such as clothing, food, and shelter since they escaped from North-Korea empty-handed. However, the resettlement aid can’t relieve defector’ burden in a long term; it is only an ephemeral policy. Defectors are not animals that just need to satisfy their basic needs. As humans are social animals, they need to live in a group where people are associated. Thus, people need time and supply to adjust into the new society after they left from the group they belonged to. Likewise, since North Korean defectors spent their whole life in North Korea, defectors are not accustomed with the custom and culture of South Korea; thus they have difficulties in assimilating into the new environment. Hence, the government should provide constant and effective education or programs to make defectors succeed in adjusting into South Korea society. The defectors crossed the Apnok River and went on a long journey from North Korea, China, Cambodia, then to South Korea not to be treated as outsiders or strangers of the new society, but to escape from impoverished and confined life, and pursue their goals that couldn't be achieved in North Korea. Though there is a 3-month Hanawon program – a program that provides information about South Korean culture and basic education about the differences between several North and South Korean words – and local centers which provide help after defectors graduate from the Hanawon program, those are temporary expedients. If training programs for defectors go along as they are now, defectors won’t able to be belong to the community, and will wander around as outsiders. Moreover, if new policy gets established, many defectors will only depend on resettlement aid; thus, it would be difficult for them to fit in when the aid dispensing period expires. Settling their identities as outsiders has a potential to lead to a bad result. Therefore, to enable defectors to successfully fit in to South Korean society, the government should investment more on educational and training field rather than just increase resettlement aid.

 

In addition, education for defectors is needed not only to pay off debts but also to guarantee them their future. North Korean defectors are not able to escape alone. Most successful people were able to cross Apnok River while brokers were keeping watch on border guards. If North Korean escapees succeed in crossing the border, they have to offer a large sum of money to brokers who smuggle them out through China and Southeast Asia. The amount defectors owe brokers is almost equal to the amount of resettlement subsidy. Thus, after paying off debts, most of defectors begin their new life in South Korea only with pennies. Moreover, some of them send about 70% of the aid to family in North Korea. However, will there be any difference if they get paid better? I personally think that increasing the rate of subsidy is as inefficient way of managing taxes. As the quote "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," mentions, the government should let them learn the way to earn money so as to escape from the poverty cycle on their own. Most of employers are reluctant to hire defectors due to their inferior ability to compete with South Koreans in work ethics, habit, and skills. Despite of the government's effort such as shouldering half of defectors' monthly wages for two years with companies, companies still hesitate to employ them due to their lack of capabilities in working skills. Since this conception was ingrained in employers as a stereotype of defector workers, defectors with high competitive abilities are unfairly discriminated by employers, Thus , to complement their lack of working abilities, the government should systemically implement education and job-training programs. Those programs should not be proceeded as simple program for unemployed South Koreans, but they need to provide an opportunity to search sufficient information on the occupation that they want to apply and to study about the field that they want to major in. Those programs will lead defectors to step forward as members of South Korean society. 

To sum up, what is needed now for North Korean defectors is not financial aid but the support from the government to assimilate into South Korean society. The government should establish more systemized and continuous education and training programs to get them settled not as outsiders, but as active members of Korean society. 

North Koreans: What They Think and How They Think - By Junha Cho

North Koreans: What They Think and How They Think

        The love and devotion North Koreans have for their country and leader are obviously a product of thorough brainwashing, or so people think. Most people think that North Koreans are mindless zombies with a mass-produced instinct to praise their country (instead of biting people). They also think that this is a result of years of ideology indoctrination which forcefully made North Koreans believe their country as an ideal one and all outside forces as evil; and isolation from the outside world along with severe surveillance, which exterminated all other thoughts but those that are taught in the indoctrination.

        However, I would like to ask: has anyone bothered to care just why North Koreans think the things they think in the way they do? Gaining an understanding of their perspective is indeed crucial in knowing and understanding North Koreans, even though one would not agree with it. Most people think they are completely brainwashed and cannot be rehabilitated. But no matter how exhaustive the North Korean government is, North Koreans are human beings capable of being rational. In order to persuade, manipulate, or even brainwash them so thoroughly, some sort of logic to support their ideas are definitely needed. So what is their logic?

        First, about North Korea’s poverty. We non-North Koreans tend to conclude that since North Korea is at extreme poverty now, it must have been destitute for forever. However, only two decades have passed since South Korea's economy surpassed that of the North. Before 1991, North Korea was arguably a well-off country where most people did not have trouble in being fed. But after 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, a great famine called "the Arduous March" that occurred from 1994 and 1998 to make matters worse. A considerable number of people were wiped out due to the famine. Nevertheless, North Korea had a period of economic stability for about 40 years, giving North Koreans the "good old times" to reflect on and mitigate their dissatisfaction towards their current situation. Such "good old times" inevitably leads to how North Koreans view Kim Il-sung, their former leader.

North Korea was left destitute like South Korea after the Korean War had ended. Many had died or were injured in war, the basic infrastructure was destroyed and the lands were devastated. People were as impoverished as can be. But thanks to their great leader Kim Il-Sung, they became a fairly wealthy country, and definitely a wealthier one than South Korea, in a considerably short period of time. Although such economical development was due to the aid of China and the Soviet Union, the North Koreans still accredit Kim Il-sung to earning the aids. In addition, since North Korea offers free education to its people, the illiteracy rate of North Korea is tallied to be 0%. Although Kim Il-Sung had done many wrong things (perhaps even more than good ones), I would call that an noteworthy achievement. And even if Kim was not such an able leader, the sentiments and longings for such time of relative prosperity must have made many people have positive feelings toward him. The respect and love the North Koreans pay to Kim is not entirely mindless or forced. And another fact: South Koreans had to pay boundless respect to their presidents as well, at least until the 1980s. They had portraits of their president at school and at home, and saluted to it just as North Koreans do. When milk was supplied at school, the teacher would explain that his Excellency, the president, had generously done them a kindness, giving them milk for their health. People feel the North Koreans' blind respect to their leaders to be very distant and bizarre, but we overlook the fact that many people of many countries in the past and today have done or do so as well.

             The hostility North Koreans have towards South Korea or the U.S. is also another things many people consider eerie or mindless, but we must know that the North Koreans still consider themselves engaged in war. This is true to a certain extent, for the treaty signed between the two Koreas was a cease-fire agreement, not an agreement of a cessation of the war. The North Koreans fear that the U.S. will invade them, which is also understandable in part seeing that the U.S. actually had a war with Vietnam and Iraq after they fought North Korea in the Korean War. Such fear instilled by the government is a rational reason for the scared people to develop nuclear weapons, whether it disrupts world peace or not. Besides, the North Koreans will think, the U.S. has countless numbers of deadly weapons, who are they to forbid us to guard ourselves?

             Until now, I have put myself in a North Koreans’ shoes and tried to reason their perspective and opinion. Although it is understandable that they have such thoughts, the thoughts are obviously unreasonable. North Korea is abjectly poor now – six million people, out of a population of 24 million, are “urgently required international foodassistance to avoid famine.” In such dire situations, developing nuclear weapons should not be the government’s top priority over its people. The belligerent attitude it is showing to the international community is in no means helping. Sanctions became tougher, and countries who sent North Korea food stopped doing so. The most serious problem is, in my opinion, that there is no freedom of speech in the country. Everybody must think and recite the same ideology, with the individual obliterated without even a protest, since the government uses terror and violence to control what thoughts its people can have and cannot. The North Korean government today is exactly like the one Hannah Arendt had mentioned in her book The Origin of Totalitarianism:”Totalitarian government (…) destroys the one essential prerequisite of all freedom which is simply the capacity of motion which cannot exist without space[of freedom].”