Former refugees help recent defectors adapt to South Korea
by Seoha Lee
Since the end of World War II, the Korean Peninsula has been divided. Partitioned in 1945 — the North under Soviet occupation and the South under U.S. occupation — the nations, still in conflict, have struggled for decades to achieve a peaceful relationship.
In the years since the divide, more than 30,000 people from the North have escaped through China and come to South Korea for a new beginning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people defecting has drastically declined due to increased border security. Before the outbreak, North Korean …
