North Korean Defector Life in South Korea and Employement Support by Gyeonggi Province

What is it like living in South Korea as North Korean defectors? What kinds of difficulties do they face and how does the province help?

North Korean defectors arriving in South Korea first face interrogation by authorities having jurisdiction including the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the National Police Agency. They are then sent to Hanawon, an educational institution that supports the settlement of North Korean defectors in South Korea, for approximately three months of orientation and training. At Hanawon, they are provided with education, counseling, and career guidance so as to overcome barriers of cultural heterogeneity. For about five years afterwards, identity protection officers from police stations or comparable agencies having jurisdiction over the defectors’ places of residence will assist with their adaptation and settlement. Even after they undergo orientation at Hanawon, however, many North Korean defectors encounter many difficulties while living in South Korea. Although they receive government subsidies in the early stages of their settlement, the reality is that many North Korean defectors are unable to break free from the low-income bracket while engaging in jobs that are often temporary or menial.

Gyeonggi Job Foundation signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Unification’s Hanawon and the Korea Hana Foundation on April 9
ⓒGyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province is home to the largest number of North Korean defectors in the Republic of Korea, with the number of North Korean defectors living in the province exceeding 10,000 as of 2019. That means one of every three North Korean defectors in the nation lives in Gyeonggi Province, about 1.4 times the 7,084 defectors in Seoul and 3.5 times the 2,891 defectors in Incheon.

Therefore, the Gyeonggi Job Foundation signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Unification’s Hanawon and the Korea Hana Foundation on April 9 to help North Korean defectors in Gyeonggi Province find meaningful employment. Eighteen officials, including Unification Minister Lee In-young, Hanawon Director Lee Joo-tae, Korea Hana Foundation Chairperson Jung In-sung, and Gyeonggido Job Foundation CEO Je Yoon-kyung attended the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Unification.

This agreement will allow the three organizations to work together to provide a variety of programs designed to help North Korean defectors start their own businesses or find jobs, and to share a wide range of job information. Hanawon will provide vocational education and career counseling for the trainees, while the Korea Hana Foundation and Gyeonggido Job Foundation will work together to recommend jobs while also providing business establishment and internship opportunities. The agreement is expected to lead to positive synergy at a time when jobs are at stake for socially disadvantaged individuals due to the economic recession and COVID-19.

According to the Korea Hana Foundation's Survey on the Settlement of North Korean Defectors, North Korean defectors are primarily employed in low-wage, hard-labor industries such as manufacturing (20.5%) and hospitality (13.7%). Due to this reality, the Gyeonggido Job Foundation plans to provide employment, business establishment, and educational information tailored to North Korean defectors, support participation by the residents of Gyeonggi in job support programs, and offer consulting services pertaining to preliminary social enterprises for North Korean defectors though its job search platform, “JOBaba (www.JOBaba.net)”.

As the first professional job agency established by a local government, the Gyeonggido Job Foundation promotes a wide variety of employment-related programs for the socially vulnerable, including occupational health insurance insurance for delivery workers, and employment and business establishment support for women whose careers have been interrupted.