According to a group of local experts, almost 60% of South Korean citizens would prefer another word, but there is no consensus on an alternative at the moment. The issue affects the identity of citizens of the peninsula. Since 1953, nearly 3,400 people have fled the North Korean regime.
Seoul () – A large proportion of South Koreans believe that the term “defector” should not be used to refer to people fleeing North Korea, according to a survey conducted by the Korea Institute for National Unification, a local think tank, according to Radio Free Asia. 59% of those interviewed believe that the official terminology needs to be changed, while 29% said that no change was necessary. In Korean, people who leave North Korea to seek refuge in the South are called “talbuk-min” or “talju-min”.
According to 61% of respondents who support the change in terminology, these words have a negative connotation, 19% believe they give a negative image of families settling in South Korea, and 15% believe the terms do not take into account the opinion of the fugitives.
Since the Korean War ended in 1953, more than 3,400 North Koreans have fled to the South, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. Many others flee to China or hide in other countries to avoid repatriation.
Human rights groups have long argued that people fleeing the North Korean regime should be referred to as “refugees” rather than “deserters.” This is also an attempt to promote a more active role on the part of Beijing, which considers them to be economic migrants who have entered China illegally. But in this way, North Koreans are not entitled to international protection.
The results of the Korean Institute for National Unification were presented a few days ago, ahead of the “Day of Defectors,” a new commemoration that the South Korean government has set for July 14. But the Presidential Commission for National Cohesion of South Korea also proposed using a new terminology, with paraphrases ranging from “residents with origins in the North” to “people from the one Korea.”
But since there is no consensus, the best solution is to continue using the existing terms, said Lee Kyu-chang, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. In his view, the best choice would be a term that identifies defectors as South Korean citizens with the same rights as those born in the south of the peninsula. Late last year, North Korea even changed its official policy, stating that South and North Koreans are citizens of two hostile countries. Previously, Pyongyang and Seoul had maintained the same line, that is, considering that citizens, despite the division into two countries, belong to the same peninsula.
“Kim Jong Un said that South Koreans and North Koreans are two different peoples,” said Hyun In-ae, director of the Korean Peninsula Future Women’s Research Institute. “If we consider North Korean fugitives as ‘immigrants,’ we are essentially agreeing with the North Korean regime’s view.”
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