That’s what this sounds like, but did no one tell them this self-sufficiency bit isn’t working these days? And, it sounds like jobs are pretty scarce in South Korea too!
Lee Ki Young, a professor of social work at Pusan University, explained, “After allowing the admission and resettlement of refugees, the U.S. focuses on their employment and economic success, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the federal government has organized a taskforce for promoting the economic independence of refugees. In South Korea, self-support and independence are proposed as the items of utmost priority.”
But he pointed out, “In South Korea, where even low-level employment isn’t guaranteed for the refugees, whether or not to pursue an early stage policy for promoting independence such as in the U.S. should be carefully considered. In particular, many North Korean breakaway citizens have debts after using brokers before entering South Korea, so their actual economic situation is quite precarious and they have a high desire for an income to bring in additional family members, but it is difficult to find ideal results from work.”