The head of the first newspaper for North Korean defectors in South Korea says defectors must seek out their roles on their own, stressing that unification is not too far away.
 
Yang Se-jin, who runs the Hantong News, said on Monday that though the number of North Korean defectors has topped 30-thousand in South Korea, some escapees still refuse to expose themselves and stay isolated from society.
 
Yang, who entered the South in 2014, said North Korean defectors are residing in South Korea with a sense of not belonging. He claimed this phenomenon is due to a lack of smooth communication.
 
Yang said his weekly newspaper seeks to introduce the stories of defectors who have succeeded in South Korea and to get other defectors to step out of isolation. He hopes that by expressing hope through communication and unity, they can find their own roles.
 
Yang explained that Hantong refers to the wish that the Korean people will unite for the purpose of unification.
 
The Hantong News is the first newspaper established by North Korean defectors in South Korea. It was founded last September and covers not only defectors' success stories but also inter-Korean ties and the North’s human rights issues.
 

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