Living in America

As North Korean refugees enter the US at a snail’s pace, it’s interesting to hear about the few dozen refugees already here. While it is not a walk in a park living in the states, it is much better than the alternatives

Washington D.C. — Among the 31 refugees who fled to the U.S. in May 2006 and March 2007, around 14 gathered in one place for the first time since their emigration at the 1st North Korea Refugees Residing in the U.S. meeting and retreat held in Washington D.C. from the 18th to the 20th and sponsored by “Durihana Missions Church USA.”

“Learning English and saving money takes up all of my time,” replied Kang Hwa Soon (born in Hamheung, entry in 2006), who is dressed as well as any South Korean and American female college student, to the question of “How is life in the U.S.?”

Ms. Kang, who said she is residing with her defected mother in a small college town in New York state, works as a waitress in a Korean restaurant making 8 dollars hourly. She has also worked in a store owned by a fellow South Korean, but moved to an American restaurant thinking she would learn English more quickly this way. Perhaps as a result, her level of conversation in English was at a surprisingly high level. She had no difficulty conversing with an American pastor.

Lee Eun Joo (female, pseudonym), who was seated adjacent to her, belongs to the “two-job holder” category. Ms. Lee, who lives in Chicago, entered the U.S. as a part of the 2nd group of defectors in 2007. She said, “Initially, I lived three months in the home of a fellow South Korean resident in the U.S., to whom I was introduced, for three months. I bought a car and rented a small room with three months’ worth of savings. I can only sleep four hours, but I do not take notice of my hardship, because I make as much as how much I put into work.”

Saving money? Now there’s a foreign concept.