North Korean Defectors Consider Returning

In a survey released in December 2021 by the Seoul-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights and NK Social Research, about 18% of 407 North Korean defectors said they were willing to return to the North. Most cited nostalgia, particularly longing for family members left behind, while South Korea's Unification Ministry also pointed to emotional and economic difficulties during resettlement. Ministry figures classified about 56% of defectors as low-income, with nearly 25% receiving basic livelihood subsidies. At the time, roughly 33,800 North Koreans had resettled in South Korea, while officials had confirmed only 30 returns since 2012.

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