Never Again

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Han Sung-ok has the recognition in the death you will never get in life

Han Sung-ok, 42, seemed determined to pick through almost every salad on the market. She turned each over and examined it, while her six-year-old son climbed over the fence in the vicinity.

The vegetable-seller in the southern suburb of Seoul looked up, a bit annoyed. This was a fussy customer and you did not buy a lot of Vegetables - just One or two things for as little as you will pay. On this occasion, a salad for 500 won (approx.$0 it was. 40; £0. 33).

It's Only a few words, Han handed her the money and left with her son.

Only a few weeks later, both were dead.

fled food shortages in their homeland of North Korea , and dreaming of a new life, Han and her son are believed to have starved to death in One of the richest cities in Asia. Their bodies lay undiscovered came for two months, until someone, in order to read the water meter and noticed a bad smell.

mother and son were found beside you on The Floor . The Only food that was in her tiny apartment, a bag of peppers-chilli-flakes.

'If you had Only asked. "To see One of The Last people that she was alive, the vegetable seller on The Street in front of your apartment complex. You saw them in the Spring - around the same time, The Police say that Han pulled The Last 3,858 won ($3. 20; £2. 60) in your bank account.

"Think back, it gives you goose bumps to me," She Said . "At first I hated for being fussy, but now I think I'm sorry For You .

" If you had just asked nicely, I would have given you a bit of salad. "

she is One of the many that we talked to, the questions begin with the phrase "If Only ". If Only The Authorities had noticed their plight. If Only the government has done more to help defectors. If Only you had asked for help.

their horrific deaths prompted outrage and anger and a large dose of soul searching.

Han ' s journey to freedom as a North Korean defector made should have your remarkable, but in this city of 10 million people, it appears they were invisible. Very few people knew her. Those who have, say, she spoke very little and would walk around almost disguised with a hat and avoid Eye Contact .

But this city now.

your photo was in flowers and gifts at a makeshift Shrine in Gwanghwamun in Central Seoul. Dozens of mourners shouting your name through the speakers, although few knew it, you personally.

"It simply makes no sense that after you die to come through all the hardship and challenges, South and Hunger. It breaks my heart," a defector grief at The Shrine , told. "When I Heard the news, it was also absurd To Believe .

"cannot happen in South Korea . Why did no One know about it until you died?"

One of the reasons why no One knew is because Han seems to have wanted to remain hidden.

can feel A laugh with a dark side, escaping North Korea , is almost impossible. More people have been trying to scale Mount Everest this year as the impoverished state. Also if you look at the past of The Soldiers and the monitoring of The Border , defectors face A Journey of thousands of miles through China. Your goal is a South-Korean Embassy in a third country. In General, in Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam.

But China is a big risk. If caught, you are sent back to North Korea and threatens a lifetime of hard work in One of his infamous gulags. Female defectors, the hand Broker hope money to disreputable to aid, often find themselves captured and sold as brides or prostitutes.

Han ' s case, it is difficult to check, how and when they left North Korea . Two defectors, who claim to have spoken with her, that she was sold to a Chinese Man as a bride and had A Son with him. We can not verify the account.

But they came to Seoul alone, 10 years ago, and certainly not open to comrades and many of their class at the Hanawon center.

All of the defectors face a mandatory 12-week basic training in such a centre, affiliated with Seoul's unification Ministry, to adapt to the life in The South . Han s-class is One of the largest it had been since the middle Set Up . It had More Than 300 people. They all knew how hard it was, if you go through China.

"I knew you went to China first. I knew, because even if she laughed and was light, there was a dark side," One of her class mates.

", I asked her what was wrong, but they stripped me.

"I'm not the kind of person to not push to much on personal Affairs, so I said, 'I know what it is, but if you go outside, as long as you work hard, you can have a good life. South Korea is a place that you get what you work for. You are young and beautiful, you will not have a hard life. Whatever you do, don't be ashamed and live with your head'. "

Han seemed to do well in their new life on the first. The Authorities help defectors find homes, and they were mates, with six of her class, in the same neighborhood, Gwanak-gu.

"she was So Pretty and feminine," her classmate said. "I think she was the second person to get to me in our class to have a job. At first, she worked briefly in a cafe in Seoul University. Even there, I've heard that you made a good impression. What we remember is that she was smart, feminine and we thought she was someone who would be able to Take Care of itself.

"We did not expect that this can happen. "

Like all the defectors Han had help in the search for a New Place To Live in Seoul, It is difficult to find out how, from this promising start, Han ended up penniless. She was so private.

Two defectors in the apartment complex told us that they believe that they had convinced to move their Chinese husband to South Korea . As A Family , they moved to The South to Tongyeong, where he worked at a shipyard. She had a second son, born with learning difficulties.

Eventually, it thought your husband went back to China without her, the oldest son with him. She was Left Alone , without a job and caring for a disabled child.

your neighbors say that she misses her older son terribly.

she moved back, where her South Korean life had begun - the subsidised housing flats in Gwanak-gu in Seoul. She applied for assistance at the community Center in October of last year, and 100,000 won ($94) received each month in child support.

Getty South Korea ' s support for defectors

12weeks the adaptation of training

$6,000-$32,400 settlement (depending on the size of the household)

$13,300-$19,100 residential money

free education in public schools and universities

source: Ministry of UnificationIt at This Time , Han and her son seem to have fallen through a gap in the social insurance.

you could have claimed much More Than the universal child benefit. A Single Parent is entitled to six to seven times that amount every month. However, that would have been required, a certificate of divorce, and it is our understanding that you do not have to.

The community Center employees said they visited her apartment for their annual welfare check in April, but she wasn't home. They were not aware of your son. She had not paid the rent for her subsidized apartment, or your bills for some time. In some other countries, this would be a red flag to social services have collected. It doesn't seem to happen in South Korea .

she was no longer eligible for assistance, such as a North Korean defector, because the period of protection of five years had expired.

'This is a death by indifference' If they are collected at The Shrine in Gwanghwamun, in front of Han , smiling, portrait, The Debate between The Defector community.

"This is absurd, how ironic, a North Korean escapes the hunger and comes to The South to starve to death!"

"What has that to do with The South Korean government? This is death by neglect. "

"This is a death by indifference. "

"Where is The System , where is The Police ?"

tributes are left to Han and her son from people who never knew them not, said her former classmate that your friend will be reminded of how you want to.

"I don't want to cause a row, with the Finger on whose fault this is. We should just come together as One and vowed to never let that again happen. It really hurts, my heart, how things are, turns out to be how people use this for their own purposes. "

So, what lessons can be learned?

The Last reports we received via the Han from the neighbors claim that she was distracted and anxious. Far from The Bright woman, which came out at the Hanawon centre 10 years ago.

at no time did Han ask for help. But you should have help come to her?

The rate of Psychological Trauma is higher among those who travel through China, according to a study by The National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

north korea, north korean defectors, south korea, social isolation, north korea human rights, poverty

Source of news: bbc.com