Defectors from North happier, more employed than before

North Korean defectors have reported higher levels of employment and satisfaction with life in South Korea this year compared to previous years, a recent study has shown.

North Korean defectors learn how to make castella cakes from a South Korean pastry chef at Hanawon on July 10. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

North Korean defectors have reported higher levels of employment and satisfaction with life in South Korea this year compared to previous years, a recent study has shown.

According to the study released by the Korea Hana Foundation on Wednesday, 79.3 percent of North Korean refugees said they were satisfied with life in the South, marking the highest positive response rate in the group’s annual study.

The study was compiled based on survey responses collected from May to June from 2,500 North Korean refugees over 15 who entered South Korea between January 1997 and December last year.

According to the Korea Hana Foundation, the proportion of defectors saying they were “satisfied” with life in the South has risen steadily since 2018, when 72.5 percent of respondents gave the same response.

In their responses this year, 41 percent of the study’s participants cited the “ability to live with freedom” as the main factor for their satisfaction.

The proportion of defectors who said they were employed also rose by 1.3 percentage points from the previous year to 60.5 percent, compared to South Koreans' 65.3 percent labor force participation rate.

That figure is the highest since the Korea Hana Foundation began conducting the annual survey in 2011, when only 49.7 percent of defectors said they were employed.

The proportion of defectors who had jobs previously hit a high of 60.4 percent in 2018 before falling to 54.4 percent in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic took off.

The unemployment rate among defectors who said they were looking for jobs fell by 1.6 percentage points from the previous year, falling to an all-time low of 4.5 percent in 2023, compared to the 2.7-percent unemployment rate among South Koreans.

Defectors also reported an average monthly wage of 2.457 million won ($1,897), which is 73,000 won higher than the average wage recorded in last year’s study, but lower than the average South Korean monthly wage of 4.2 million won reported by the Bank of Korea last year.

Notably, 59.8 percent of North Korean defectors settled in the South said they were satisfied with their socioeconomic achievements, compared to only 31.8 percent of South Koreans who gave the same response.

The proportion of North Korean defectors who said they were dissatisfied with their socioeconomic progress was only 5.6 percent, far lower than the 21.6 percent of South Koreans who said the same.

North Korean defectors also expressed higher optimism about socioeconomic mobility, with 71.3 percent saying they believe “it is possible to improve one’s socioeconomic standing,” compared to just 26.4 percent of South Koreans who concurred.

However, North Korean defectors who participated in the study also reported difficulties associated with settling and living in the South, with 16.1 percent of respondents in this year’s study saying they experienced “discrimination or condescension” in South Korea.

More than 72 percent attributed discrimination to “cultural differences in communication,” while 45.5 percent and 16.4 percent also cited “negative stereotypes regarding North Korean defectors” and “a belief that North Koreans lack competence in professional skills and knowledge” as their perceived reasons for receiving differing treatment.

Defectors also said they needed more support in resettling in the South, with 21.7 percent calling for more help in finding jobs and establishing businesses, 18.1 percent saying they needed better medical assistance and 14.3 percent calling for more educational support.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]