07/07/2004

North Korean children in China are extremely vulnerable. Considered illegal immigrants by the Chinese authorities, they live in continual fear of deportation of themselves and their immediate family members.  In many cases they are separated from their families, and are either living on their own or with a "foster" family.  Because of their illegal status, they have few opportunities for education and employment. They are vulnerable to various forms of exploitation. North Korean children explained to Refugees International that they feel hopeless and frustrated about their lack of education and employment opportunities in China.  As a teenage boy explained, "I feel like I’m wasting my life.  I never leave my house.  I stay at home and read books.  I’m not learning anything.  I want to lead a normal life like other teenagers."

While many North Korean children live as virtual prisoners in China, unable to leave their homes out of fear of deportation, all the young people RI interviewed said that their lives are better in China.  But “better” is a relative term.  When one considers the abysmal living conditions in North Korea, almost anything is a step up.  RI was told that economic conditions in North Korea have worsened in the past two years.  The cost of living has dramatically increased, and as a result, many young people now must work instead of attending school.  In addition, government policies requiring students to provide their own books and uniforms have made it impossible for many children to attend school.  While hospital visits are free, patients must now buy their own medicine. In North Korea, many people are barely surviving.

Family separation is the norm for most North Koreans in China.  In some cases, parents leave their children in North Korea when they go to China.  Children who are left in North Korea either become the head-of-household, move around from impoverished relative to impoverished relative, or end up in the orphanages that exist in most North Korean cities.  Sometimes, children will go alone to China or will travel with one parent.  It is very rare that entire families make the trip together.  Even if family members do travel together, there is no guarantee that they will stay together in China.  For example, a North Korean woman told RI that she gave her six-month old daughter to a Chinese family because she was unable to care for her.  It is also probable that families will be separated through deportation.  Sometimes, North Korean women will marry Chinese men who do not want to care for their children, and the children are left to fend for themselves.  As a result, there are many separated and unaccompanied children.

Compared to North Korea, mere survival in China is not so difficult. Young people face a larger challenge—the fact that previously unimagined opportunities are routinely denied to them.  A 16-year old girl explained, "When I first arrived in China, I was surprised by all the lights. In North Korea, everything is dark.  I took a taxi for the first time in China.  I felt like I was a Party member."  Another girl said, "When I first came to China, I asked myself why my mother could not have given birth to me in China."

Many North Koreans do not speak Chinese and are therefore at risk of detection.  Only a small percentage of North Korean children have access to education. A few attend church-run schools and even fewer attend Chinese schools.  Some families can pay a fee to enroll their children in Chinese school, but RI was told that increasing crackdowns by Chinese police were forcing North Korean children to stay out of schools to avoid detection.  In rural areas, some young people are able to work on farms, but in cities, because of tighter surveillance, job opportunities are almost non-existent.  As a result, the reality for young North Koreans is bleak.  They stay at home all day to avoid detection by Chinese authorities.  There are few opportunities for them to learn Chinese in order to allow them to move around and avoid detection.  They cannot work.  They are worried about their families, either in North Korea or China.  As one teenage boy explained, "The situation here does not allow me to dream about my future."

Because of their vulnerability, North Korean children can easily fall into exploitative relationships.  One teenage girl explained that her Chinese stepfather would force her to work very hard.  She would have to collect firewood to sell in the winter and farm during the summer.  Another girl explained that her Chinese stepfather, a man her mother was sold to, would severely beat her mother and her children, sometimes with the back of an ax.   A 16-year old girl explained that she was starving in North Korea and couldn’t go to school.  "I thought I would die if I stayed there."  She traveled to China with a friend.  She didn’t have anywhere to go when she reached China.  An old woman saw her wandering on the street and convinced her to take care of her sick son.  The woman and her son verbally abused her and continually threatened to turn her into the police.  She stayed with the woman for two years with no pay until the woman kicked her out.  It is not known how many girls end up in brothels and karaoke parlors, or as underage brides.

Equally worrying is the situation for the unknown number of children born from marriages between North Korean women and Chinese men.  Because these marriages are illegal under Chinese law, the children are not considered to be Chinese and are not given Chinese citizenship.  For wealthier families, it is possible to buy citizenship for their children at a price of roughly $1,250, but this is out of the reach of most families.  This question of citizenship will be an issue within the next few years when these children approach school age.  Like North Korean children, these half-Chinese children will not be able to attend school easily.

Many of the North Korean young people RI interviewed had been deported, some of them several times.  None of them reported any mistreatment by the Chinese authorities. They explained that North Korean authorities treat children under 18 better than adults in the interrogation centers and that children are not forced to perform hard labor. But they described horrible living conditions in the prisons where they had to sit perfectly still for hours on end and were subject to rigorous interrogations.  Some of the children reported that they were subject to verbal abuse.

Refugees International, therefore, recommends that:

• The Government of China, as party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, fulfill its obligation under international law to ensure the protection of North Korean children, especially by granting access to education.
• The Government of China grant citizenship to the children of North Koreans with Chinese spouses.
• The Government of China halt deportations of law-abiding North Koreans.
• The Government of China grant UNICEF and UNHCR unimpeded access to monitor conditions for North Korean children.

Refugees International has conducted two assessment missions to the China-North Korea border area in the past year.