Korea Times id="lblContent">2018-12-20 16:54 By Jung Da-min class="text" id="lblContent">


Many North Koreans who flee their country, especially young women, are
trapped by brokers and sold to Chinese farms or forced to work in sex shops,
according to a group that helps defectors.


Rev. Chun Ki-won, of the Durihana Mission in Seoul, said the situation
has worsened because of tighter border controls between the two countries and
China's internal crackdown.

color="blue">“From the moment North Korean
women defectors see the brokers pay the soldiers on the crossing, they are at
the mercy of the brokers, as they have to pay the money back, style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="blue">” says Chun, who has been helping North Korean
defectors since the 1990s.



color="blue">“Whether they knew it or not,
or whether they wanted it or not, they are victims of the human trafficking
that has become a systemized method to defect from North Korea to China. lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="blue">”



Most of the North Korean defectors are women and many are in their 20s or younger,
he said.


The interview was held at his mission in southern Seoul on Dec.17.


Chun recently rescued two North Korean women who had been confined in an
apartment in China and forced to style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="maroon">“work style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="maroon">” as color="maroon">“cam girls style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="maroon">” for a porn site. The two, now 27 and 24, spent
five and eight years, respectively, as online sex workers there.


When they left North Korea, they had not dreamt they would end up as sex
workers.


The two were deceived by a Chinese man who told them he would free them
if they color="maroon">“work hard style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="maroon">” for a couple of years, but he did not keep
his word.

color="blue">“Among those I helped, one was
13 years old when she gave birth in China, color="blue">” he said. color="blue">“She came to China with her
mother when eight years old and they were color="blue">‘sold style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="blue">’ to different places when she
became 10 years old. color="blue">”



color="blue">“Whether they had babies from
an unwanted relationship or even from a rape, they still want to embrace their
babies. But North Korean mothers and their children born in third countries
face another hardship in South Korea due to the lack of governmental support
policies and cultural gaps, with the biggest hurdle being the language. lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 함초롬바탕; mso-font-width: 100%; mso-text-raise: 0pt;"> color="blue">”



He says the children of North Korean women born in third countries
had not been granted the same benefits as those born in North Korea, even though
they are also seen as defectors in a broader sense. They also find more it more
difficult to learn Korean as they were born and raised outside the Koreas.


As the number of these children enrolled in South Korean schools outnumbers
young North Korean defectors, the government is expanding support for them,
such as making it easy to get academic accreditation for their schooling outside
the country