HanVoice wants to make Canada a ‘front door’ for defectors | NK News
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September 27, 2026Sep 27, 2026

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HanVoice wants to make Canada a ‘front door’ for defectors

Escapees enjoy higher quality of life in Canada, but legal obstacles complicate process

Where does a North Korean refugee have the best chance of successfully resettling: Seoul or Toronto?

While South Korea might seem the intuitive choice, Randall Baran-Chong insisted Canada can be a better place for an escapee to land.

“Most North Korean immigrant stories in South Korea don’t have very good outcomes,” he said. Baran-Chong, the executive director of HanVoice, the largest organization in Canada advocating on behalf of North Korean human rights and refugees, cites statistics that illustrate this: widespread unemployment and more than half rely on welfare. Many speak of discrimination throughout South Korean society.

“One said he hated