North Korea: Preparing defectors for new lives in South Korea – BBC News

South Korea has restated its commitment to welcoming North Korean defectors.

The number who have escaped and made it to the South has fallen dramatically over the last decade or so. of North Koreans making the difficult and dangerous journey to South Korea – risking possible death if they are caught – has fallen significantly in recent years.

But the few who do make it to the country to escape poverty and repression About two hours’ drive from the South Korean capital, Seoul, there is a Part training-hub, part medical facility, part re-education centre, where North Korean defectors are sent for three months when they arrive in South Korea.

Its name is Hanawon, or to give it its full title, the Settlement Support Centre for North Korean Refugees.

Kim Sung-hui, who graduated from Hanawon just over a decade ago described how "the first night on the outside is a memorable one for all defectors. I felt such relief that I was finally in South Korea. I hugged my daughter and started to cry – not because I was sad or lonely – but because we’d survived,".

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