(Yonhap Interview) Hanawon center, a litmus test for how Koreas can unite

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has come a long way since it opened a
resettlement center for North Korean defectors a decade ago, but there is still
much left to do, the head of the center said Wednesday.
Hanawon, meaning the "House of Unity" and located just south of Seoul, is the
first stop for North Koreans who enter the South. Born as a cultural orientation
center in 1999, Hanawon is now looking to extend its three-month training to
offer life-time support for the newcomers, who face a string of daunting
challenges from unemployment, stereotyping and cultural barriers, Youn Mi-ryang,
the center's new director-general, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.
"Hanawon is turning 10, and I believe it's time for the center to draw a bigger
picture," Youn said, ahead of the 10th anniversary next week.
The demographics of North Korean defectors has drastically expanded -- from
borderline soldiers in the Cold War era to diplomats, party officials,
fishermen, farmers and other working-class people who began to stream in during
the mid-1990s. They were mostly male at first, but 80 percent of new defectors
now are women.
As their numbers have increased, South Korean state incentives for defectors have
leveled out. New defectors used to receive a hero's welcome in the 1960s and 70s,
and were often awarded luxury housing and hefty stipends. The financial support
has been cut back, with the number of defectors now well over 16,000.
Youn, the first woman to be the center's chief, said Hanawon has been
strengthening psychological therapy and counseling programs for women defectors,
whose numbers passed the 10,000 mark last year. While in third countries with no
legal status, they are often targets of sexual abuse and human trafficking rings,
surveys suggest.
Many also come with gynecological problems. According to data from the
Unification Ministry, six out of 10 North Korean female defectors who entered
Hanawon from 2003 to August last year had ovarian or cervical illnesses.
"We have been focusing on gender-based programs," Youn said.
"Some come with a lot of hurt because their family members are still in North
Korea or in third countries. That mental pain develops into physical illness. We
try to help them get relief and be positive about themselves," she said.
Youn, who received a doctoral degree in Britain with a comparative study on the
status of women in South and North Korea, says Confucian patriarchal values still
hold in the communist North, where women are expected to lower themselves to
doing house chores and other menial work while also doing all the
government-commissioned work at factories and farms. During their lunch break,
many go home to feed their husbands and children, she said. Their values clash in
the more Western-oriented South, putting strain on relationships with their new
partners here.
"In South Korea also in the 60s, women were seen as inferior to men," Youn said.
"In North Korea, there is a perception that all menial work is for women to do.
They are shocked to see South Korean women raise their voice to their husbands."
She added, "But there is also a similarity. Korean women are strong mothers.
Whether from the South or the North, they have a strong zeal to educate their
children."
Defectors generally say employment is their biggest challenge in the
competition-driven South. Coming from different academic systems centered on the
cult worship of leader Kim Jong-il and socialist ideology, most defectors settle
with blue-collar jobs that don't require advanced education -- working in the
manufacturing sector (30 percent), lodging facilities or restaurants (19 percent)
or construction (12 percent) and retail (12 percent), according to government
data released in March.
Day laborers accounted for 43 percent of employed North Korean defectors,
compared to the 9 percent recorded for South Koreans. The newcomers earned an
average of 937,000 won (US$741) per person a month, about a third of what South
Korean workers earn.
Youn said language is an unexpected major barrier for North Korean defectors, who
often have distinct accents and aren't familiar with the slew of English words
that have fallen into regular use here.
Despite all the challenges, Youn said she is seeing small improvements, and
believes the center is a kind of litmus test for how South Korea could reunite
with the North.
"I sense that there is a stronger will among the newcomers to stand alone. There
is a better attitude to get a job rather than live off welfare," she said. "I
hope our society wil become more tolerant to embrace people who come from
different cultures."
hkim@yna.co.kr
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