Defectors' reunification fears

Defectors used to receive a warm welcome

By Caroline Gluck in Seoul

The forthcoming inter-Korean summit is raising hopes that there may be some prospect for eventual reunification of the two countries.

However, nearly a thousand people who defected from the communist North and have sought asylum in the capitalist south, worry that they may be left out in the cold.

Just a few years ago, defectors fleeing the Stalinist North were greeted as heroes on their arrival.

Each defection was seen as a huge publicity coup for the South.

Less than welcome

As the numbers of defectors increased, many who made the long and dangerous journey south began to feel less welcome.

Mr Kim: South Koreans look down on us

Koh Choon and Kim Yong Kuk escaped to freedom four years ago.

Mr Kim hid as a stowaway on a boat from China.

He is now unsuccessfully looking for work after he was forced to give up his studies for financial reasons.

"The most difficult aspect is that we have two entirely different ways of thinking," he says.

"South Koreans look down on us and think we are living off their taxes."

I think if we can't accommodate 900 defectors in our society, its impossible to accommodate North Korean people

Professor Lee Sang-man

"Even if there is unification, because of the differences and the mistrust, the North Koreans and the South Koreans would end up living in separate groups and after a while there would be complete social chaos."

As he signs on for work, it is clear there are many difficulties in adjusting to life in the free world.

Depression

Many defectors feel alienated and have problems dealing with the competitive fast-paced life.

Studies have shown that large numbers quit work and suffer depression.

Professor Lee Sang-man, a North Korean specialist, says that if South Korea cannot accommodate defectors, it will have difficulty accommodating all of North Korea.

"I think if we can't accommodate 900 defectors in our society, its impossible to accommodate North Korean people," he says

North Korea has experienced years of famine

"That is more than 20 million people - after unification."

Repression in the Stalinist state and political persecution sparked the first wave of defections.

These days, the reasons are largely economic.

Years of famine and floods have made many desperate to escape the grinding poverty.

Painful process

The task of narrowing the gap between the two countries and integrating their peoples will take many years.

The process of unification could run into billions of dollars.

While Koreans yearn for unification, many believe that for the time being the costs are simply too high.

Mr Chun: Unification will take time

Even the most successful defectors find adjustment difficult. Restaurant owner Chun Chul Woo still yearns for home.

"I think unification will take time and indeed it should take time because you can't force North Korea into South Korea's capitalist system," he says.

"North Korea - like China or Russia - needs time for internal change."

The growing disenchantment these defectors feel towards their new lives indicates that eventual unification won't be easy.

The period of adjustment is likely to be a long and painful process.