North Korean refugees in Northeast China

Asian Survey

Volumn 44, Issue 6, 2004, Pages 856-873

  Lankov, Andrei ^a  

^a AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT; IMMIGRANT POPULATION; POLICY MAKING; REFUGEE;

ASIA; CHINA; EASTERN HEMISPHERE; EURASIA; FAR EAST; WORLD;

EID: 13644261606     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/as.2004.44.6.856     Document Type: Article

References (62)

1. Sufficient to say that out of five known survivors of the North Korean political prison camps who have defected to the South, two were arrested in the 1980s for staying in China without proper permits. An Hyǒk (often spelled An Hyuk) crossed the border "out of curiosity" in 1986, and Kim T'ae-jin overstayed his visa while visiting Chinese relatives in 1987. Both were apprehended by the Chinese, extradited, and spent some time in the relatively liberal (but still deadly) North Korean Penal Camp # 15 in Yǒdok. See The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2003), pp. 31-32.
2. Ch'oe Pyong-guk's story is quite typical in this regard. He was bom in China to an ethnic Korean family. In the late 1960s, his family moved to the DPRK; in 1987, when he got himselfinto trouble with the police, Ch'oe fled back to China. Eventually, he managed to move to Seoul. See Ch'oe Pyong-guk, "Kongsan Tokjae Chach'i-Eso Chayu-Rǔl Kkumkk-ul Su ǒpsta" [One cannot dream about freedom under communist dictatorship], in Puk Han [North Korea], no. 7 (1997) (Seoul), pp. 137-39.
3. In 1997 the number of chogyo was estimated at 6,000. In other words, they comprise some 0.3% of the Korean population in Northeast China. Song Ch'ǒ1-bok, "Chogyo-nǔn Nuguinga?" [Chogyo: Who are they?], Kyǒnhyang Sinmun [Capital and Countryside Newspaper], February 18, 1997, p. 7. Note: all newspaper and most magazine articles cited in this article were retrieved via the Korean Integrated News Database System (KINDS), . Cited Korean- language newspapers are published in South Korea unless otherwise indicated.
4. There is little doubt that in recent years, border crossing often involves bribing North Korean guards. Testimonies to this are abundant in interviews with refugees. For example, see "Pǒmjoe Kǔnǔl: 4" [In the shade of the crime: 4], Hangere Sinmun [Korean Nation], August 10, 2002, p. 1;
5. Kim Kyun-mi, "Nǔnhaejin Puk-Chung Kukkyǒng" [The lax border between North Korea and China], Taehan Maed [Great Korea Daily], March 15, 2002, p. 4.
6. A study conducted among the refugees in China in early 1998 estimated that 32% of their family members had died in the previous three years. The vast majority of refugees came from northern provinces; thus, this mortality rate largely reflects the situation there. See Kim Kyǒng-mu, "Chinan Hae I I-wǒl Ihu Samangja Kǔpjǔng" [Rapid growth in the number of deaths since last November], Hangere Sinmun March 10, 1998, p. 1.
7. To date, this study remains the best available field research conducted among the refugees, and it is widely cited in numerous Korean publications dealing with the topic. The results of the study were published in 1999 in Tumangang- Ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl [People who have crossed the Tumen River] (Seoul: Chǒngdo ch'ulp'an, 1999), p. 27.
8. "Ch'oech'o Kukka Kukka Anjǒn Powiby Chidowǒn Ch'ulsin T'albukja Yun Chae-Il"[Yun Chae-Il, the first defector who was a cadre at the Ministry for the Protection of State Security], Chosǒn Wǒlgan [Korea Monthly], no. 7 (2002), KINDS, .
9. Sǒ Tong-man, "Kwajangtoen Puk Ch'eje Wigiron" [Exaggerated views of system crisis in North Korea], Taehan Maeil, March 19, 2002. Dr. Sǒ expressed the same opinion in a special re-port written for the Nautilus Institute, see Suh Dong-man, North Korean Defectors and Inter- Korean Reconciliation and Cooperation, Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network, Special Report, May 7, 2002,.
10. Ibid. Statements about "300,000 refugees" can often be found in South Korean publications. See, for example, Pǒp Ryun, " T'albukja-Edo Hwahae-Ǔi Ongi-Rǔl" [The warmth of reconciliation and the North Korean refugees], Chung'ang Ilbo [Central Daily], September 1, 2000, p. 6.
11. U.S. Committee.for Refugees (USCR) Country Report: China 2001, .
12. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, p. 2 1. This figure has been confirmed by other research as well. According to Kwak Hae-ryong, women may comprise as much as 80% of all refugees. Kwak Hae-ryong, "Pukhan It'al Chumin Ingwon Silt'ae-E Kwanhan Yǒngu" [A study of the human rights situation of the refugees who fled North Korea] in Pyǒnghwa Munje Yǒngu [Study of Peace Problems], no. 1, 2000, p. 261.
13. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, p. 13.
14. Ibid., p. 24.
15. A female refugee from South Hamgyǒng Province reported that she had crossed the border in February 1998 with a group of five people, four North Korean women and a broker. All the women had been contacted in the DPRK and agreed to go to China and marry there. The refugee was sold for 3,500 yuan ($450) to a 30-year-old farmer, with whom she lives quite happily (ibid., pp. 62-63). Another female refugee crossed the border in March 1999. Her group consisted of three girls accompanied by a matchmaker who had also located them in Korea. Ibid., p. 64.
16. These cases of kidnapping and the "price range" for Korean women are mentioned by many publications. See, for example, Cho Hyǒng-rae, "T'albuk Yǒin Insin Maemae Kǔksǒng" [The growth of the trade in North Korean women], Chosǒn Ilbo [Korea Daily], January 12, 1999, p. 27;
17. "Pǒmjoe kǔnǔl: 4," p. 1;
18. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, pp. 63, 65, 68, 71, 73.
19. Yim Ǔl-ch'ul, "Yurit'ang Hanǔn T'albuk Yǒsǒng" [North Korean female refugees subjected to mistreatment], in Hangere 21 [Korean Nation] weekly, no. 274, September 9, 1999, KINDS, . The relevant testimonies can be found in Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl as well.
20. Hwang Ǔi-bong, "Nanmuhanǔn Pukhan Chǒngbo, Beijing-ǔi Nam-gwa Puk" [Chaotic intelligence about North Korea, the North and the South in Beijing] in Sin Tong'a [New East Asia], no. 5 (1999), KINDS, . This article mentions that North Korean prostitutes are especially popular among South Korean clients.
21. Kim T'ae-gyǒng, "Maǔl, Sansok T'umangsik Kǒmgǒ" [Casting-net style roundups in villages and mountains], Hangere Sinmun, July 9, 1999, p. 14.
22. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, p. 25.
23. Ha Chong-dae, "Ttǒdonǔn T'albukja T'aep'ung-Ǔi Nun: Haepǒp Angae Sok" [The center of the refugee storm: No solution in sight], Tong'a Ilbo [East Asia Daily], August 17, 2002, p. 10;
24. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, p. 23.
25. Kim T'ae-gyǒng, "Maǔl, Sansok T'umangsik Kǒmgǒ," p. 14;
26. Yi S ǔng-han,"Songhwahamyǒn Chugǒyo" [I'll die if I am deported], Kukmin Ilbo [Citizens' Daily], April 8, 2000, p. 26. Hangere Sinmun also reports that Chinese authorities pay 500 yuan ($60) as a premium for the denunciation of a fugitive.
27. Tumangang-ǔl Kǒnnǒon Saramdǔl, pp. 67, 94.
28. For remarks to this effect made by one of the refugees, see "Pyǒnghwahanǔn Pukhan, KǔǓiminǔn Muǒsinga?" [Changing North Korea: What does it mean?], Keys (a Korean-language bi-monthly magazine), no. 7-8 (2002), . This recent change of attitude is addressed at some length in Hangere Sinmun, August 5, 2002, p. 1: "Pǒrǒjirnǔn T'ǔmsae: T'albukja - Chaejung Tongp'o Kaldǔng-Ǔi Ssak" [The growing gap: Seeds of discord between the refugees and Chinese-Koreans].
29. A North Korean retired officer who fled to China with his wife wrote: "I thought that the defection to the South would be easy, but it was not the case." See Pak T'ae-yǒng, "Mije ch'imryakja-dǔl Han Nom-do Namgim-ǒpsi ǒ ps'ae'pǒriyaji" [Let's destroy the U.S. imperialist aggressors up to the last man!] in Puk Han [North Korea], no. 6 (2001), p. 170.
30. According to the National Intelligence Service, 1,139 defectors arrived in the South in 2002. In 2001, there were 583 defectors, and in 2000, they numbered 312. An overwhelming majority of these moved to the South via China. See Yi Hun-gi, "Kukunae Ipkuk T'albukja 5,000 Myǒ ng Nǒmǒsǒ" [The number of North Korean defectors in the South exceeds 5,000], Tong'a Ilbo, November 17, 1999, p. 8.
31. "Ch'oech'o Kukka Kukka Anjǒn Powiby Chidowǒn."
32. Ha Sǒng-bok, "Hanguk Taesagwan-Ǔi Mangmyǒng Sinch'ǒng Moksal" [The Korean embassy remained silent when I asked for asylum], Hangere Sinmun, May 24, 2002, p. 1.
33. For a number of such stories, see Kim Mi Yǒng, " T'albuja-dǔl Hoego 'Nae-Ga Chu-Jung Hakguk Taesagwan-E Tǔrǒkassǔl Ttae'/ Towajulsu Ǒpsǔni Yǒgi-Esǒ Nagara!" [The defectors recollect: "When I arrived at the Korean Embassy"/'We cannot help, get out of here! "], Chosǒn Ilbo, May 15, 2002, p. 55.
34. Kim Hwa-Sǒng, "Hanguk Taesagwan Sǒulhaeng Antowajuǒ" [The Korean embassy does not assist in passage to Seoul], Tong'a Chugan [East Asia Weekly], no. 166, January 7, 1999.
35. Ko Chae-yǒl, "Haengbokhan 7 In, Purhaenghan 30 Man" (7 are happy, 300,000 are not], Sisahǒnal [Current Affairs Magazine], no. 611, July 11, 2001, KINDS, .
36. Yun In-jin, Pukhan T'aljumin-ǔi Ihae-wa Chawonpongsa [Voluntary service and support of North Korean refugees] (Seoul: Koryǒ taehakkyo, 2000), p. 10,
37. "Making a successful defection takes a lot of money and requires the involvement of many people, including North Korean officials and Chinese brokers," according to Cho Dong-young, chairman of the Korean Assembly for the Reunion of Ten Million Separated Families (KARTS). See Kim Ji-ho, "Defectors from North Not Always Welcomed by Southern Relatives," Korea Herald, January 19, 2000, p. 3.
38. For a discussion of the difficulties experienced by North Korean refugees in Southeast Asia, see Ky Su-jǒng, "'Bet'ǔnam rut'ǔ-ǔi nunmul" [Tears of the "Vietnamese route"] in Hangere 21, no. 254, April 22, 1999. For remarks to the same effect, see "25 in-ǔi t'albuk, nugu-ǔi chakp'um, inga?" [The escape of the Twenty-five: Whose achievement?] in Sisa Chǒnal, no. 648, March 28, 2002, KINDS, .
39. see "25 in-ǔi t'albuk, nugu-ǔi" chakp'um, inga?" [The escape of the Twenty-five: Whose achievement?] in Sisa Chǒnal, no. 648, March 28, 2002, KINDS, .
40. This is the reason why all defectors who manage to cross into the South are normally required to produce North Korean identification. The inability to produce such proof of origin might mean rejection, even on South Korean soil. Kim Yong-hwa, a former North Korean officer who fled to China in 1988, was rejected by the South Korean missions in China and Vietnam. In 1995, he was extradited by the South Korean immigration service after he had secretly arrived on the South Korean coast on a small boat. The reason for the rejection was that he carried only Chinese identification and could not present documents proving his North Korean origins. Kim's misfortunes became a major media issue. As usual, publicity helped: To avoid embarrassment, the Seoul authorities allowed him into the country. Kim's story has been retold a number of times, e.g., Yi Yǒng-jong, "14 Nyǒn Yurang Kim Yong-Hwa Ssi 'T'akbukja' Injǒngtoel Tǔs" [Kim Yong-hwa is recognized as a 'North Korean defector' after 14 years of wandering], Chung'ang Ilbo, March 2, 2002, p. 34.
41. Chǒn Sǒk-un, "1999 Ihu Wijang T'albukja 15 Myǒng Chǒkbal" [Since 1999, 15 pseudo-refugees have been unmasked], Kukmin Ilbo, September 16, 2002, p. 2
42. Pak Yun-ch'ǒl, "T'albukja 1000 Myǒng Sidae: Ǒttǒk'e Salgo Issna?" [The era of 1,000 refugees: How do they live?], Tong'a Ilbo, November 17, 1999, p. 8.
43. Both Yim Tong-won's statement and its "clarification" attracted much attention and were reported by all Korean media. Here, we use the English wording of the Korea Times, which reported both the ministerial statement and its effective withdrawal in the same October 18, 1999, issue, albeit in different articles (Kim Yong-bom, "Korea to Accept All NK Refugees," p. 2 and Son Key-young, "Seoul Lacks Practical Means to Accept N. Korean Defectors," p. 3.
44. Such plans have been widely discussed in the South Korean press. See, for example, Kim Chae-bon, "T'albukja p'Inanch'o Maryǒnhara" [Give North Korean refugees a place to shelter], Munhwa Ilbo [Culture Daily], September 6, 2002, p. 7.
45. "Chung Taesa Int'ǒbyu: 2" [Interview with the Chinese ambassador: 2], Taehan Maed, August 22, 2002, p. 5.
46. See, for example, a lengthy interview of Zhu Liang, former head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, in the October 2002 issue of Wolgan Chungang [Central Monthly]. Zhu sometimes describes the refugees as "illegal trespassers" (Korean: pulpop wolgyǒngja).
47. The most prominent role belongs to Norbert Vollertsen, a German medical doctor who once worked in North Korea. In May 2002, Dr. Vollertsen described his strategy frankly to South Korean journalists: "I came to recognize that creating big events covered by the global media is the only way to help resolve the defector issue. once worked in North Korea. In May 2002, Dr. Vollertsen described his strategy frankly to South Korean journalists: "I came to recognize that creating big events covered by the global media is the only way to help resolve the defector issue
48. " See Shim Chae-yun, "NGOs Offer Conflicting Prospects for Defection," Korea Times, May 17, 2002, p. 3.
49. "Daring Asylum Bid in Beijing," CNN report on September 29, 2004, .
50. "Beijing Tǒgil Hakkyo Chinip T'albukja 4 Myǒng Sǒul Haeng" [Four refugees who broke into the German school in Beijing are moving to Seoul], Taehan Maeil, December 25, 2002, p. 2.
51. Cho Sǒng-jin, "Chung, T'albukja Taegǒ Kangje Hwangsong" [Large-scale deportations of North Korean Refugees in China], Syegye Ilbo [World Daily], January 10, 2003, p. 3;
52. Kim Chae-bong, "Kkiǔlyǒkanun T'abukja" [The refugees who are taken away], Munhwa Ilbo, February 5, 2003, p. 7. The timing of the entire operation might be related to the fact that during these three months, the rivers are frozen, making crossing even easier.
53. Among major institutions involved in providing North Koreans with assistance, two deserve mention. Helping Hand Korea (HHK) makes a clear statement on the front page of its official website: "From 1998, HHK diversified its assistance activities to North Korea by giving special emphasis to direct aid for North Korean refugees in China and, in extraordinary circumstances, coordinating logistical support for their escape to third countries." See , accessed October 9, 2004. Also notable are the Japanese NGO Life Funds for North Korean Refugees and a number of South Korean groups, often associated with religious organizations.
54. "Chung, T'albuk Alsǒnhoe 7 Myǒng Chǒngsik Chaep'an Ch'aksu" [Seven people are standing trial for helping North Korean refugees], Kukmin Ilbo, December 7, 2002, p. 2. The leader of the group, pastor Ch'oe Pong-il, was condemned to nine years' imprisonment.
55. See Hong Inp'yǒ, "T'albuk Chiwon Hanguk-in 9 Myǒng Chungsǒ Sugam Chung" [Nine Koreans are in Chinese prisons for helping [people] escape from the North], ibid., March 20, 2004, p. 6. Ch'oe was released after two years in prison and returned to Seoul in September 2004.
56. Han Chang-hǔi, "Chung-sǒ P'ullyǒnan Ch'oe Pong-il Moksa" [Pastor Ch'oe Pong-il released from a prison in China], ibid., September 24, 2004, p. 8.
57. "T'albujadǔl-ǔi T'alch'ul Kwajǒng-gwa Songhwan Hu-ǔi Unmyǒng," Keys, no. 6 (2002), .
58. See "Ch'oech'o Kukka Kukka Anjǒn Powiby Chidowǒn."
59. On the spread of small radios and interest in South Korean broadcasts, see "T'albukja 67% Puk-e issǒss-caul ttae Namhan Radio Ch'ǒngch'wi" [67% of all defectors listened to the South Korean broadcast while in the North], Tonga Ilbo, February 28, 2003, p. 49. A collection of interviews with defectors conducted in Northeast China in 2003 includes a number of interviews with people who cross the border regularly.
60. "Puk-chung kukkyǒng choyǒk-ǔl kada" [Traveling in the areas near Sino-Korean border], Keys, no. 1 (2004). On the use of Internet facilities by North Koreans in China,
61. see Han Chang-hǔi, "Puk silsang alliryǒ ... T'albukja homp'i kaesǒl" [To tell about the real situation in the North ... A defector establishes a home page], Kukmin Ilbo, July 6, 2004, p. 8;
62. Yi Mi-suk, "Kasǔmi Ullin T'albukja e-meil" [An emotional e-mail from a defector], Munhwa Ilbo, May 28, 2002, p. 2.