This is why South Korea dreads a collapse of the Kim regime:
Sammy Hyun is now a US citizen and has lived in the US since 2007 – and he considers himself to be ‘lucky’. Photograph: Noah Smith for the Guardian
When Chang Ho Kim was living in North Korea, information trickled in from China about the world outside the closed country. Through the lens of pirated movies, he says, America had looked to Kim like “a very rich and luxurious place”.
Defectors from the North automatically become South Korean citizens after a mandatory three-month transition that is part debriefing, part re-education. Most North Korean defectors in the South stand out, and the Kims were no exception. They have distinct accents, and are often shorter and slighter with darker, sallow skin from years of malnutrition. It’s hard to avoid South Koreans’ prejudice and suspicions that North Koreans are spies.
Remembering the Hollywood images of the US, the Kims decided to make their way to the US illegally through a broker.
But for the Kims, and others like them, life in the US is not necessarily easier.
The American celluloid dream comes with skyrocketing price tags. North Koreans arrive with little or no experience of bills, rent, and no means to cope with the lack of social services and health insurance that illegal immigrants must navigate.
“American life is so hard. Money, money, money,” said Pastor Young Gu Kim, an evangelical South Korean immigrant who helps defectors. “Some defectors told me, ‘Oh pastor, sometimes I miss it over there.’”
Like Chang Ho Kim, many North Koreans enter illegally and settle in Los Angeles, amid the large population of ethnic Koreans. Nearly 200 former North Koreans live in Los Angeles, advocacy groups say, but exact numbers are unknown. [The Guardian]
You can read more at the link, but North Koreans are not socialized to live in a western society that largely demands individual initiative to work hard and make money to support ones self. Imagine if millions of North Koreans showed up in South Korea instead of the small trickle that currently exists if the regime was to collapse. The social problems this would cause would be enormous and thus why the ROK government is pushing a policy of gradual reunification instead of regime collapse.
We all saw what the fall of East Germany did to West Germany during their “uni”. South Korea’s economy and culture aren’t strong enough to handle Korean “Angela Merkel” and 10 million Muslim “refugees”
guitard
6 years ago
GIKorea wrote: “The social problems this would cause would be enormous and thus why the ROK government is pushing a policy of gradual reunification instead of regime collapse.”
Reunification? The current ROK government isn’t calling for reunification; gradual or otherwise. If it did, the Norks would freak out. In the Panmunjom Declaration jointly signed by Moon and Kim, it says, “South and North Korea will actively cooperate to establish a permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.”
@Guitard, you are right about the wording being a peace regime, but I think it is pretty clear that the Moon administration is setting conditions for a possible confederation with the North down the road.
Ole Tanker
6 years ago
Welcome to the good ole U S of A, where money is King. When I deal with Real Estate Agents, Car Dealers and the such, I opine, “I wish I was back in Korea where I could deal with Honest people.”
setnaffa
6 years ago
Ole Tanker must have been high while in Korea. All this world has is Mark I, Mod 1.0 humans…
setnaffa
6 years ago
Arrg! left off the “/jk”… Sorry!! 😳 😳 😳
Ole Tanker
6 years ago
Setnaf, when I was in Korea I had a used KIA van that blew the engine. KIA replaced it for free. I had a LG CDRom go bad, went to a store, replaced for free. Buy a house in the states, over appraised, over insured, lost value for 7 years. try to sell a house, no one will come close to what it’s worth, they want a ‘flip” deal! car dealer, They want $2000 in dealer fees over the sticker price. you don’t find out until you sit down with the finance department. Buyer beware in the USA!
Ole Tanker
6 years ago
Setnaf, now that I think about it. Medical care in America. In Korea I could see a DR $12 and get 1 1/2 months of insulin for $40. In America, with Medical Insurance $200 per month, $20 copay for DR, 1 1/2 months of Insulin $40 copay. In Romania in 09, I could get my Insulin for $40 too, no insurance. My wife just got a $15 bill for a Dr Appt she had in Feb, paid her $25 copay then for the appt. You tell me, what’s wrong with America.
ChickenHead
6 years ago
“but North Koreans are not socialized to live in a western society”
America has a growing underclass of people like that… and due to liberal idealism and political correctness, there is more of a drive to accept their diversity than socialize them and their prolific offspring.
South Koreans self-socialized for several decades to go from nothing to something… and they continue to refine all the rough edges.
Anyhoo…
If North Korean defector US citizens need a nice kushy job and miss home, there are some opening in agricultural harvesting and detainment center guard.
They probably don’t have much experience with large harvests but they can probably beat the hell out ofna detainee.
setnaffa
6 years ago
Ole Tanker, I have had no trouble getting warranties honored lately (since 2008, anyway). In fact, even Amazon goes out of their way for me. I realize there are places where that’s not the case. And some places don’t look for repeat business. Caveat Emptor is the rule everywhere, even in Korea.
Housing speculation is directly related to Dodd-Frank (q.v.) and the crash of 2008. There is also, at least in my neck of the woods, a sort of syndicate buying houses for cash, any condition, because the city leaders want to basically change the town from suburban homes into Chamsil-style apartment blocs…
Medical costs are directly related to the Insurance Industry and the plague of lawyers we have in the US, compounded by our laws that essentially make healthcare free for criminal aliens, people who lie, and, very rarely, actual citizens with no money or insurance. The rest of us see bills for over $20,000 settled by the insurance company for $8,000 and change. I know a little about this as my bills since 2016 have started over $2,000,000 and the insurance and I paid less than 33% of that.
(break out the tiny violins)
Speaking of medical-related costs, God-forbid you should have to go to a hospital 300+ miles from home and stay in town for 26 weeks so far (in clumps of 1 to 6), and you expect to be doing this week-long CT Scan, MRI, and blood test stuff every 3-6 months for another 4 years. Add in the hotels in the area fill up every time Houston has a festival, a rodeo, a big game at NRG, or whatever, and the prices (normally $165+/day with self-parking plus tax) can triple or more. Apartments are cheaper, if your stay is over 30 days. When you’re sick, you really can’t trust AirBNB, which isn’t as close and doesn’t have a shuttle. And in addition to no one’s insurance covering lodging or travel costs (unless you’re getting a transplant), the IRS limits your daily expense deductions to $50 for lodging and food (probably less now). And there are really, really poor people at MD Anderson, so I’d be ashamed of myself forever if I took any of the assistance available.
(put away the tiny violins, I’m one year cancer-free)
Elections have consequences. Vote for people who want smaller government and more free enterprise.
We all saw what the fall of East Germany did to West Germany during their “uni”. South Korea’s economy and culture aren’t strong enough to handle Korean “Angela Merkel” and 10 million Muslim “refugees”
GIKorea wrote: “The social problems this would cause would be enormous and thus why the ROK government is pushing a policy of gradual reunification instead of regime collapse.”
Reunification? The current ROK government isn’t calling for reunification; gradual or otherwise. If it did, the Norks would freak out. In the Panmunjom Declaration jointly signed by Moon and Kim, it says, “South and North Korea will actively cooperate to establish a permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.”
@Guitard, you are right about the wording being a peace regime, but I think it is pretty clear that the Moon administration is setting conditions for a possible confederation with the North down the road.
Welcome to the good ole U S of A, where money is King. When I deal with Real Estate Agents, Car Dealers and the such, I opine, “I wish I was back in Korea where I could deal with Honest people.”
Ole Tanker must have been high while in Korea. All this world has is Mark I, Mod 1.0 humans…
Arrg! left off the “/jk”… Sorry!! 😳 😳 😳
Setnaf, when I was in Korea I had a used KIA van that blew the engine. KIA replaced it for free. I had a LG CDRom go bad, went to a store, replaced for free. Buy a house in the states, over appraised, over insured, lost value for 7 years. try to sell a house, no one will come close to what it’s worth, they want a ‘flip” deal! car dealer, They want $2000 in dealer fees over the sticker price. you don’t find out until you sit down with the finance department. Buyer beware in the USA!
Setnaf, now that I think about it. Medical care in America. In Korea I could see a DR $12 and get 1 1/2 months of insulin for $40. In America, with Medical Insurance $200 per month, $20 copay for DR, 1 1/2 months of Insulin $40 copay. In Romania in 09, I could get my Insulin for $40 too, no insurance. My wife just got a $15 bill for a Dr Appt she had in Feb, paid her $25 copay then for the appt. You tell me, what’s wrong with America.
“but North Koreans are not socialized to live in a western society”
America has a growing underclass of people like that… and due to liberal idealism and political correctness, there is more of a drive to accept their diversity than socialize them and their prolific offspring.
South Koreans self-socialized for several decades to go from nothing to something… and they continue to refine all the rough edges.
Anyhoo…
If North Korean defector US citizens need a nice kushy job and miss home, there are some opening in agricultural harvesting and detainment center guard.
They probably don’t have much experience with large harvests but they can probably beat the hell out ofna detainee.
Ole Tanker, I have had no trouble getting warranties honored lately (since 2008, anyway). In fact, even Amazon goes out of their way for me. I realize there are places where that’s not the case. And some places don’t look for repeat business. Caveat Emptor is the rule everywhere, even in Korea.
Housing speculation is directly related to Dodd-Frank (q.v.) and the crash of 2008. There is also, at least in my neck of the woods, a sort of syndicate buying houses for cash, any condition, because the city leaders want to basically change the town from suburban homes into Chamsil-style apartment blocs…
Medical costs are directly related to the Insurance Industry and the plague of lawyers we have in the US, compounded by our laws that essentially make healthcare free for criminal aliens, people who lie, and, very rarely, actual citizens with no money or insurance. The rest of us see bills for over $20,000 settled by the insurance company for $8,000 and change. I know a little about this as my bills since 2016 have started over $2,000,000 and the insurance and I paid less than 33% of that.
(break out the tiny violins)
Speaking of medical-related costs, God-forbid you should have to go to a hospital 300+ miles from home and stay in town for 26 weeks so far (in clumps of 1 to 6), and you expect to be doing this week-long CT Scan, MRI, and blood test stuff every 3-6 months for another 4 years. Add in the hotels in the area fill up every time Houston has a festival, a rodeo, a big game at NRG, or whatever, and the prices (normally $165+/day with self-parking plus tax) can triple or more. Apartments are cheaper, if your stay is over 30 days. When you’re sick, you really can’t trust AirBNB, which isn’t as close and doesn’t have a shuttle. And in addition to no one’s insurance covering lodging or travel costs (unless you’re getting a transplant), the IRS limits your daily expense deductions to $50 for lodging and food (probably less now). And there are really, really poor people at MD Anderson, so I’d be ashamed of myself forever if I took any of the assistance available.
(put away the tiny violins, I’m one year cancer-free)
Elections have consequences. Vote for people who want smaller government and more free enterprise.
@Ole Tanker, you need to go and get yourself a Costco membership. You can return just about anything there.
[Or Amazon Prime or Kohls or Sam’s Club or Walmat or…] 😀