Did you know that 71.9% of North Korean defectors in South Korea are women?
That is a remarkable statistic, presented by the Ministry of Unification. Compared to the rest of the world, it represents a far more unequal gender distribution. Indeed, only 48.1 percent of the global migrant stock are women, according to the latest UN International Migration Stock Report. This number is even smaller in Asia, at 41.8 percent.
Why is this? What is special about North Korean migration? Why might women experience unique pull and push factors? What mobilizes defectors? What unique challenges do women face en route?
I asked Dr. Shin Mi-nyeo, PhD in North Korean Studies, why she thought most defectors were female. Fundamentally, she attributes it to women’s responsibility for the family: in times of hardship, mothers bear the financial burdens of the household.
“During North Korea's March of Suffering, in which many people starved to death due to mass famine and economic hardship, state rations suddenly stopped,” said Dr. Shin. “In North Korea, individuals do not save for the future or own property,” so the effects were disastrous.
The March of Suffering, also known as the Arduous March, was a famine coupled with an economic crisis in North Korea between 1994 and 1998, estimated to have killed upwards of 2 million people. In the midst of mass starvation, “women were in charge of the household economy and feeding their children,” she remarked.
I also spoke to a defector in Seoul, who wishes to remain anonymous. She immigrated in the early 2000s, and is now a licensed special counselor for refugees.
“Since the 1990s, since the famine, women have been staying at home, and men have been working and entangled in organizational life,” she said. “Women are in charge of sustenance, so they know poverty first and defect first to make money in China for their families.”
The famine of the 1990s seems to have exacerbated gender roles—increasing the pressure on women to care for the household, and conversely, furthering the indoctrinating men into their state-run workplaces.
“If men don’t show up for work, they are criticized for their ideologies, humiliated in front of a crowd, and sentenced to correction,” she said.
So men are barred from defection, given their entrenchment in the state workforce, as well as military draft. This exemplifies how, not only are women more eager to leave for their family’s sake, but more able to do so as they are less fixed in the state’s labor force.
A typical immigration route for defectors is long and arduous, and starts with China. They often cross the border of North Korea into northeastern Chinese provinces, and travel southward into Southeast Asia; upon their arrival in Thailand, they are jailed and ultimately deported to South Korea. This journey involves traversing multiple countries. If it is followed by mostly women, receiving countries can tailor their immigration policies to better receive, treat, and support women.
