World · East Asia & Pacific · 3 hrs ago
North Korean defector has worked as a rebar worker in South Korea for 18 years
Hyun Myeong-sook has worked in construction in South Korea for 18 years since settling there in 2008 after leaving North Korea.
Now 58, she works as a rebar worker, helping reinforce buildings and other structures.
She used her construction wages to bring her younger brother and sister to South Korea.
Before leaving North Korea, she had lost her husband and daughter, and her mother died during a period of hunger.
She also spent five years in China and five years in a North Korean prison, according to her account.
Her story counters claims that defectors contribute nothing to South Korea, where she says she feels proud of the buildings and roads she helped build.
She has put down roots in Changwon and hopes to begin the next stage of her life.
Hyun Myeong-sook, a North Korean defector, has worked as a rebar worker at construction sites in South Korea for 18 years.
She settled in South Korea in 2008 and began working in construction soon after.
She took the work to earn money to bring her younger brother and sister to South Korea.
She has lost her husband, daughter and mother, and now lives in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
- Who
- Hyun Myeong-sook, a 58-year-old North Korean defector.
- What
- She has worked as a rebar worker at construction sites in South Korea for 18 years.
- When
- Since settling in South Korea in 2008.
- Where
- Construction sites across South Korea; she has put down roots in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
- Why
- She took construction work partly to earn money to bring her younger brother and sister to South Korea.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Hyun Myeong-sook was born in Bukcheong, South Hamgyong Province.
At 17, she graduated from middle school and was sent to work at the factory where her parents had worked.
She settled in South Korea and began working as a rebar worker at construction sites.
She worked at a power plant construction site in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
She worked at a power plant construction site in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province.
- Age
- 58
- Years in construction
- 18
- Year she settled in South Korea
- 2008
- Home
- Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province
- Siblings brought to South Korea
- One younger brother and one younger sister
What people are saying
I have built apartments and paved highways all over the country. When I pass by them, I feel proud and overwhelmed by the thought that I contributed to South Korea’s development.
My life is simple. My thirties passed with five years in China and five years in a North Korean prison, and I came to South Korea at forty and have worked continuously as a rebar worker at construction sites for 18 years.