Smart Phone App & Mass Marriage Ceremony for N. Korean Defectors | NK News
October 04, 2024
Opinion

Smart Phone App & Mass Marriage Ceremony for N. Korean Defectors

But reports say the Hanawon resettlement centers are emptying

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification has launched a smart phone application for North Korean defectors in the South, according to the Dong-A Ilbo. Called “Dongpo Sarang” (love for ethnic brethren), the app aims to help defectors in the process of integrating into South Korean society. It provides information in over seven categories, including medical assistance, job information, education and housing, and is expected to be available for free download from the Android store in the near future.

Also this week South Korean broadcaster KBS hosted a mass marriage ceremony  for North Korean defectors and “multicultural” couples, as part of the broadcaster’s corporate social responsibility program. Twenty-nine multicultural couples and twenty-one defector couples tied the knot at the ceremony, while a thousand people joined to congratulate them. KBS President Kim Hwan Young conducted the ceremony and urged the couples to “become leaders in the advancement of Korea by overcoming lingering social prejudice in society.” KBS also sponsored a honeymoon for the couples in Gangwon Province.

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