Migration Experiences of North Korean Refugees: Survey Evidence from China

26 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2008

See all articles by Yoonok Chang

Yoonok Chang

Hansei University

Stephan M. Haggard

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS)

Marcus Noland

Peterson Institute for International Economics; East-West Center

Date Written: March 2008

Abstract

Chronic food shortages, political repression, and poverty have driven tens of thousands of North Koreans into China. This paper reports results from a large-scale survey of this refugee population. The survey provides insight not only into the material circumstances of the refugees but also into their psychological state and aspirations. One key finding is that many North Korean refugees suffer severe psychological stress akin to post-traumatic stress disorder. This distress is caused in part by their vulnerability in China, but it is also a result of the long shadow cast by the North Korean famine and abuses suffered at the hands of the North Korean political regime: first and foremost, perceptions of unfairness with respect to the distribution of food aid, death of family members during the famine, and incarceration in the North Korean gulag, where the respondents reported witnessing forced starvation, deaths due to torture, and even infanticide and forced abortions. These traumas, in turn, affect the ability of the refugees to hold jobs in China and accumulate resources for on-migration to third countries. Most of the refugees want to permanently resettle in South Korea, though younger, better-educated refugees prefer the United States as a final destination.

Keywords: North Korea, China, refugees, migration

JEL Classification: P2, P3, F22

Suggested Citation

Chang, Yoonok and Haggard, Stephan M. and Noland, Marcus, Migration Experiences of North Korean Refugees: Survey Evidence from China (March 2008). Peterson Institute for International Economics Working Paper No. 08-4, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1106323 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1106323

Yoonok Chang

Hansei University ( email )

604-5, Dangjung-dong, Kunpo-si
Kyunggi-do 435-742
Korea

Stephan M. Haggard

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS) ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0519
United States
858-534-5781 (Phone)
858-534-3939 (Fax)

Marcus Noland (Contact Author)

Peterson Institute for International Economics ( email )

1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

East-West Center ( email )

1601 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96848-1601
United States

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