Fleeing North Korea

Do you discuss the topic of emigration as well as immigration? If so, consider this fascinating WaPo piece about the perilous journey out of North Korea.

Leaving North Korea means a “hard and dangerous” 2700 mile journey on “buses, motorbikes and boats, in taxis and on foot over mountains” through China and Laos in an effort to reach Thailand. Thai authorities don’t repatriate North Koreans. Instead, they send them to the South Korean embassy in Bangkok where they’ll start the process of becoming South Korean citizens.

For asylum buffs, you can talk about this journey as you would those fleeing Honduras who must traverse Guatemala and Mexico – evading authorities along the way who would like to repatriate them. Reaching the US is reaching relative safety because then they can claim asylum. (The different for North Koreans being that they’ll automatically become citizens at the end of their journey.)

The article is endlessly fascinating. It chronicles the dangers of the journey, and talks about the hopefulness of North Koreans in a Thai detention facility – “the safety of this humid and smelly cell.”

-KitJ