A North Korean defector living in South Korea was detained on Tuesday after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarized border, in an apparent attempt to get back to the North, Yonhap news agency reported.
The incident took place at around 1:30 a.m. (16:30 GMT on Monday) at the Tongil Bridge in Paju, northwest of the capital Seoul, after the man ignored warnings from soldiers guarding the bridge and attempted to drive through, Yonhap said, citing city police.
Paju police referred queries on the incident to provincial police authorities. The northern Gyeonggi police agency could not be reached for comment.
The man aged in his 30s who had defected more than a decade ago told police that he was trying to return to North Korea after struggling to settle in the South, the report said.
"Once defectors make it to South Korea, often after a perilous journey across multiple countries, they go through interrogation by the government intelligence agency. Then they are sent to the main Hanawon complex in Anseong, 40 miles southeast of Seoul, to prepare for their new lives in the South.
The facility offers medical and psychiatric care. It teaches defectors about South Korean society and gender equality, and provides occupational training and counseling for skills including cooking, baking, nail art, skin care, clothes-making and mending, and long-term caregiving.
After completing the three-month program, defectors receive subsidies and housing benefits, as well as continued support from local centers to help them assimilate during their early years living in South Korea."
Doesn’t sound like they treat them like shit. Sounds like they actually have a very efficient and well-funded system to welcome and integrate defectors.
Are you yourself working for North Korea or something? “OMG yeah North Korea so great, they treat you like shit in South Korea, definitely don’t go there, the music is also bad.”
I think the poster meant “they” as in South Korean society in general rather than the government.
When I was living over in Seoul, I volunteered at an organization that supported North Korean refugees. There were lots of native South Korean people there too. I imagine it’s a mixed bag, similar to the US.