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In South Korea, resentment of refugees from the North
- A lack of interaction between South Koreans and defectors from the North is creating a simmering resentment
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Each of the dozens of pine trees has a label attached, stating the name of the person who planted it, their hometown in North Korea, and the relatives they left behind in the North.
At the centre of this park – which, when viewed from above, is shaped like the Korean peninsula – is a monument with a poem, the first line of which translates as “Our wish is unification”.
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The park was built in 2012 and is the most conspicuous sign of what makes this otherwise typical community of flat blocks and commercial streets unique: with around 1,400 North Korea-born residents, it has the largest number of North Korean defectors of any South Korean district.
Defectors were initially drawn to this neighbourhood, called Nonhyeon, due to its proximity to jobs at nearby industrial complexes. Many have settled in its quiet, leafy residential blocks that have easy access to amenities, including public transport.
While there are no obvious signs of tensions in Nonhyeon, here and in other neighbourhoods with high numbers of defectors, South Korean media have reported cases of South Korea-born locals resenting defectors for the government benefits they are entitled to, and opposing the establishment of community facilities intended to assist defectors.
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