South Korean defectors

Not to be confused with North Korean defectors.
This article is about people who have willingly defected to the North Korea. For people abducted by North Korea, see North Korean abductions of South Koreans.
South Korean defectors are South Koreans who cross the Korean Demilitarized Zone to the North.

South Korean defectors are South Korean citizens who have defected to North Korea after the division of Korea.

In recent times there have been cases of defectors defecting back to North Korea.

Background

Propaganda value of defectors had been recognized even right after the national division in 1945. The defectors were used as tools to prove superiority of the political system in use at the destination country.[1]

North Korean propaganda has targeted South Korean soldiers patrolling at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.[2]

Aftermath of the Korean War

357 prisoners of war, from the United Nations' side, wished to stay in North Korea instead of being repatriated to their own countries. These people included 333 South Koreans, 23 Americans, and a Briton. Eight South Koreans and two Americans changed their minds later.[1] However, total amount of prisoners of war held by North Korea and China has been disputed, due to unaccounted South Korean soldiers, since 1953.

During the Cold War several U.S. Army servicemen defected to the North Korea. Roy Chung was born to South Korean immigrants, and was one of the defectors. Unlike the other defectors who defected across Korean Demilitarized Zone, he defected through border of West Germany and East Germany in 1979.[1] His parents accused North Korea of abducting him. The United States was not interested in investigating the case, as he was not a "security risk", and in similar cases it was usually impossible to prove that a kidnapping had occurred. There were several other cases of South Koreans mysteriously disappearing and moving to North Korea at that time, including a case of a geology teacher from Seoul who disappeared in April 1979 while he was having a holiday in Norway. Some South Koreans also accused North Korea of attempting to kidnap them while staying abroad. These alleged kidnapping attempts occurred mainly in Europe, Japan or Hong Kong.[3]

Double defectors

There are people who have defected from North Korea to South Korea, and then have defected again back to North Korea. In first half of 2012 alone, there were 100 cases of double defectors. As of 2015 there were around 25,000 North Korean defectors in the South. Possible reasons for double defectors are safety of remaining family members left behind, North Korea's promises of forgiveness and other attempts to lure the defectors back, including propaganda,[4] and widespread discrimination faced in South Korea.[5][6] Both the poor and the members of elite are dismayed to find out that they are societally in a worse position than it would be in North Korea. Half of the North Korean defectors living in South Korea are unemployed.[7] In 2013 there were 800 North Korean defectors unaccounted for out of 25,000 people. They might have gone to China or other Southeast Asian countries on their way back to North Korea.[8] Unification ministry records officially as of 2014 only 13 cases of double defectors.[9]

South Korea's laws do not allow naturalized North Koreans to go back. North Korea has accused South Korea of abducting and forcibly interning these people who want to return, and has demanded that they are allowed to leave.[10][11][12]

Contemporary South Korean-born defectors

The Joint Security Area as seen from North Korea

North Korea has targeted its own defectors with propaganda in attempts to lure them back as double defectors,[4] but contemporary South Korean defectors born outside of North Korea were not welcome to defect to the North. In recent years there have been seven people who tried to leave South Korea, but they were detained for illegal entry in North Korea, and ultimately repatriated.[13][14][15] In 2009 a wanted man cut a hole in the demilitarized zone fence and defected.[14]

There have been fatalities as a result of failed defections. One of the defectors died in a failed murder-suicide attempt by her husband while in detention.[15] One person who attempted to defect was shot and killed by South Korean military in September 2013.[16]

List of notable defectors

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Strangers At Home: North Koreans In The South" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Friedman, Herbert A. (5 January 2006). "Communist Korean War Leaflets". www.psywarrior.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Joe Ritchie (13 September 1979). "South Korean, Who Joined U.S. Army, Reportedly Defected to North Korea". Washington Post.
  4. 1 2 "North Korea Is Promising No Harm And Cash Rewards For Defectors Who Come Back". Business Insider. 18 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Why Do People Keep "Re-Defecting" To North Korea?". NK News - North Korea News. 11 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Phenomenon of North Korean "double defectors" shows deepening divide". Scottish News - News in Scotland - Scottish Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Adam Taylor (9 August 2012). "Some North Korean Refugees Are So Depressed By Their Life In The South That They Go Back North". Business Insider.
  8. ↑ Adam Taylor (26 December 2013). "Why North Korean Defectors Keep Returning Home". Business Insider.
  9. ↑ Justin McCurry. "The defector who wants to go back to North Korea". the Guardian.
  10. ↑ "South Korea bans North Korean defector from repatriation - UPI.com". UPI. 22 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Will Ripley, CNN (23 September 2015). "Defector wants to return to North Korea". CNN.
  12. ↑ "A North Korean Defector’s Regret". The New York Times. 16 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Tim Hume, CNN (28 October 2013). "South Korea intrigued by 6 who defected to Pyongyang - CNN.com". CNN.
  14. 1 2 "North Korea Returns South Korean 'Defectors'". VOA.
  15. 1 2 Adam Withnall (28 October 2013). "South Korean defectors flee TO North Korea 'in search of better". The Independent.
  16. ↑ "South Korean army shoots dead 'defector'". Telegraph.co.uk. 16 September 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.