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Home > South-North Relations > Data & Statistics > Policy on North Korean Defectors

Policy on North Korean Defectors

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Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors Entering South Korea
Category ~'98 ~'01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 ’18 ’19 ’20 ’21.9(provi sional) Total
Male 831 565 510 474 626 424 515 573 608 662 591 795 404 369 305 251 302 188 168 202 72 29 9,464
Female 116 478 632 811 1,272 960 1,513 1,981 2,195 2,252 1,811 1,911 1,098 1,145 1,092 1,024 1,116 939 969 845 157 19 24,336
Total 947 1,043 1,142 1,285 1,898 1,384 2,028 2,554 2,803 2,914 2,402 2,706 1,502 1,514 1,397 1,275 1,418 1,127 1,137 1,047 229 48 33,800
Percent age of female defecto rs 12.2% 45.8% 55.3% 63.1% 67.0% 69.4% 74.6% 77.6% 78.3% 77.3% 75.4% 70.6% 73.1% 75.6% 78.2% 80.3% 78.7% 83.3% 85.2% 80.7% 68.6% 39.6% 72.0%

Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Age Group
Category Ages 0-9 Ages 10-19 Ages 20-29 Ages 30-39 Ages 40-49 Ages 50-59 Ages 60 and older Total
Male 651 1,703 2,622 2,152 1,388 582 349 9,447
Female 646 2,105 6,967 7,547 4,601 1,457 995 24,318
Total 1,297 3,808 9,589 9,699 5,989 2,039 1,344 33,765

※ The figures are based on the ages when they entered South Korea and may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Professional Background in the North
Category Management Military Workers Unemployed Volunteer sector Arts and sports Professions Non-target (children) Total
Male 411 718 4,154 3,215 92 84 232 541 9,447
Female 140 161 9,207 11,952 1,449 221 526 662 24,318
Total 551 879 13,361 15,167 1,541 305 758 1,203 33,765

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities (The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical

Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Academic Background in the North
Category Preschool child Kindergarten Primary school Secondary school (Middleand highschool) College University and higher education Uneducated Other (unidentified) Total
Male 418 136 804 5,728 851 1,115 361 34 9,447
Female 404 215 1,497 17,712 2,675 1,215 515 86 24,318
Total 822 351 2,301 23,440 3,526 2,330 876 119 33,765

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities, and they include dropouts for each educational level.
※ The figures may be adjusted as a result of the revision of historical data and the category of Other includes those who entered Hanawon recently and did not fill in their academic background.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Region of Birth in the North
Cate gory Kangwon Nampo Ryang gang Jagang South Pyongan North Pyongan Pyong yang South Hamg yong North Hamg yong South Hwang hae North Hwang hae Kaesong Other (uniden tified) Total
Male 223 75 1,554 76 458 376 463 776 4,848 269 185 46 98 9,447
Female 375 89 4,449 163 655 507 338 2,104 14,986 203 284 33 132 24,318
Total 598 164 6,003 239 1,113 883 801 2,880 19,834 472 469 79 230 33,765

※ The figures may differ from the actual number of North Korean defectors due to the exclusion of those who arrived recently and are in protection facilities.

Number of North Korean Defectors by Region

(persons)
Number of North Korean Defectors by Region
Region Seoul Gyeonggi Incheon Busan North Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Daegu North Chung cheong South Chung cheong and Sejong
Male 2,164 2,739 780 248 225 239 135 277 356
Female 4,679 8,048 2,168 709 901 841 516 1,099 1,381
Total 6,843 10,787 2,948 957 1,126 1,080 651 1,376 1,737
Region Gwangju Gangwon Daejeon South Jeolla North Jeolla Ulsan Jeju Total
Male 129 212 127 148 111 117 71 8,078
Female 435 662 454 502 434 360 261 23,450
Total 564 874 581 650 545 477 332 31,528

※ The figures do not include those who are dead, whose resident registrations were cancelled, who emigrated, whose residences are unknown, and who are in protection facilities.

Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))
Settlement Status of North Korean Defectors
Category ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20
Percentage of recipients receiving livelihood benefits 54.8 54.9 51.3 46.7 40.8 35 32.3 25.3 24.4 24.4 23.8 23.8 23.8
Dropout rates(primary, middle, and highschool) 10.8 6.1 4.9 4.7 3.3 3.46 2.5 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.5 3.0 2.9

※ Dropoutrates for 2020representthepercentageof studentswhodropped outof school in2016.(source:Ministry ofEducation)

Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors

(percentage (%))
Economic Activities of North Korean Defectors
Category ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 ’20
Activity Rates 49.6 48.6 42.6 56.5 54.1 56.9 56.6 59.4 57.9 61.2 64.8 62.1 60.1
Employment rates 44.9 41.9 38.7 49.7 50 51.4 53.1 54.6 55 56.9 60.4 58.2 54.4
Unemploy ment rates 9.5 13.7 9.2 12.1 7.5 9.7 6.2 4.8 5.1 7 6.9 6.3 9.4

※ source: A 2020 Survey of North Korean Defectors by the Korea Hana Foundation