Are they mad? A growing number of North Korean defectors are risking the arduous and desperate passage once again — to get home. Is life in the free world really so bad?
The North Koreans who want to go home
Are they mad? A growing number of North Korean defectors are risking the arduous and desperate passage once again - to get home. Is life in the free world really so bad?
If you were a student at a school in North Korea, your life would be very different. In the morning, you would do a session of marching on the spot and saluting the image of the leader Kim Jong-un and you might have to spend 90 minutes a day learning about his greatness.
What delights would await you at the end of the school day?
You could go shopping, or try out the latest fashions. But dyed hair, jeans, sunglasses and even shoulder bags are banned.
And there would be no tasty dinner when you got home. North Koreans are facing mass starvation.
No wonder so many have tried to defect and leave their home country for neighbouring South Korea. Since the 1950-53 Korean war, around 34,000 North Koreans have defected to the South. The journey is dangerous, difficult, and often ends in death.
However, a number of people are now double-defecting, going back to authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. North Korea.
Is it nostalgia? Fear of the authorities? Culture shock? Or just plain madness?
Defectors to South Korea perform mostly unskilled, poorly-paid work and can face discrimination. But perhaps it goes even deeper.
Is it a kind of madness to crave authoritarian tyrannyCruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader.? Some say it might just be human nature.
Are they mad?
Yes! The stakes could be no higher for defecting from North Korea. You can be caught and executed or sentenced to decades of hard labour just for trying.
No! It is understandable to wish to return home. Defectors have family, friends, memories and experiences back in North Korea.
Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.
Tyranny - Cruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader.
The North Koreans who want to go home

Glossary
Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.
Tyranny - Cruel and aggressive use of power, often used to describe countries under the grip of a single oppressive leader.