What’s it like being a female in North Korea? Let’s talk about what it’s like living in North Korea first:
The UN reported that 2 out of 5 North Koreans are undernourished due to lack of food and medicine. Yet they’re not allowed to leave the country for a better life. North Koreans are prohibited from watching foreign movies. They don’t have freedom of speech; they’re forbidden to voice anything that doesn’t fit their rulers’ ideologies. Oh, and what happens if they break these rules? Either they face incarnation or public execution. Even though living in North Korea is extremely dire, escaping is not easy. Some attempt to flee to China, but since they are considered economic migrants rather than refugees (which will be explained below), many of them are unable to stay. Even worse, others may report them and they’re forced to go back. Many North Koreans who are sent back are detained and questioned by the police who use extreme methods to extract confessions. These methods can include torture, humiliation, intimidation and starvation.
Now, what are our leaders doing to combat this situation? Well, the UN are trying their best to resolve human rights violations in North Korea, but have been unsuccessful due to North Korea’s unresponsiveness. Despite their human rights being violated on a daily basis, North Korean citizens are unable to seek refuge in other countries such as Canada or America. Under the South Korean constitution, all Koreans under the Korean peninsula are deemed as ‘citizens’. In other words, North Koreans can seek citizenship in South Korea. As a result, many countries deny North Koreans refugee status, since South Korea is seen as a viable option. However, for some North Koreans, living in South Korea can be intolerable due to discrimination, limited social support, and cultural and language barriers. In fact, life in South Korea is so hard, many of these refugees prefer to go back to North Korea.
So what’s like being a North Korean female refugee?
North Korean women are often stereotyped as prostitutes, so 30% of them are offered prostitution upon arrival to South Korea. Oftentimes, they are sold to unmarried men/pimps into sex slavery. Even this former North Korean defector confessed she watched her mother get raped in China, just so the same wouldn’t happen to her. In fact, this violence is so severe that mental illness, and especially post-traumatic stress disorder, is common among NKR women.
Coincidentally, the majority of North Korean refugees are females! Since North Korea is a patriarchal nation, there are limited economic opportunities for women. However, the majority of their family rely on them as the breadwinners, so many NKR females migrate to improve their family economic conditions.
Many North Korean females bring their family to South Korea but, unfortunately, single mothers in South Korea are ostracized due to the Confucian culture and hierarchical society. Oftentimes single moms are shunned and harassed by co-workers to the point where most single moms quit their jobs. Many neighbours and families do not want to associate with a single mom, to the point that their children are bullied and excluded by their classmates. In some cases, many mothers give up their children for adoption because of how severe this stigma is – hence South Korea’s high adoption rate. These experiences cause NKR families to live in isolation and shame, thus intensifying their poor mental health.
Out of all North Korean refugees, we must help them the most. So what can we do to help?
Our marketing team is responsible for designing various graphics featured on our Instagram page. Above is a graphic of Yu Gwan-sun, who was an organizer of the March 1st Movement against Imperial Japanese colonial rule of Korea in South Chungcheong.
Enter HanVoice UWaterloo, led by co-presidents Eunice Na and Sarah Choi. Eunice, Sarah and their team have succeeded in raising awareness on this issue since HanVoice UWaterloo was founded in 2019. Back in September, they organized Hanvoice 101 and a documentary night to educate others about North Korea’s human rights crisis. It was a blast, and despite the pandemic making it difficult to organize events, all of them had a high turnout. By the end of January, they will host a webinar – HanVoice Pioneer – in which a refugee will share their experience of living in North Korea. In March, they will host another webinar – NKR and Mental Health – in which an expert will discuss the severity of mental health among North Korean refugees. Ultimately, HanVoice aims to encourage the Canadian government to accept more North Korean refugees through their awareness and advocacy events. Given Canada’s welcoming environment for immigrants, this refugee program can ensure NKR females have better living conditions and mental health support!
If you want to learn more about the human rights crisis in North Korea, please follow HanVoice’s Instagram page where we post educational resources and information about future awareness events. If you are interested in joining Hanvoice, please email us at hanvoice.uw.wlu@gmail.com. Joining our team is a great opportunity to gain policy, marketing, graphic design, and event-planning experience.
Please support us so you can help give a voice to the voiceless and empower North Korean women.