HanVoice

The current refugee crisis stems in large part from the periods of famine that the country experienced in the mid 1990s. Approximately 1 to 3 million people perished in the mid 1990s in North Korea due to famine. The North Korean people rely on a central food distribution system for much of their needs. Due to floods and government mismanagement during this period, the famine became one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has ever witnessed. It is under these circumstances that many North Koreans decided to flee or seek food and water from neighbouring China, and it is at this juncture that the North Korean refugee crisis began.

China does not consider North Koreans found in their territory to be refugees. Out of political expediency toward the government of North Korea, its Chinese counterpart labels North Korean refugees as "illegal economic migrants", despite meeting all criteria as refugees under international law. As a result, North Korean refugees found in China are repatriated back to North Korea where they face torture, imprisonment in gulag-type camps, forced labour, and sometimes public executions. To avoid repatriation, most North Koreans in China remain in hiding and are at the mercy of smugglers, bounty hunters, and human traffickers.

Despite these risks and difficulties, there are anywhere between 30,000 and 400,000 North Korean refugees within China. A small number of these refugees are fortunate enough to make the journey to refugee-friendly nations with the assistance of a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private citizens who have set up a small "underground railroad". Through these secret networks, refugees have reached sanctuary in places such as South Korea, Europe, the United States, and even Canada.