Hanawon
Sign in to saveAlso known as Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees, House of Unity
The Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees (), commonly known as Hanawon (; "House of Unity"), is a South Korean facility for the "training for social adaptation" of North Korean defectors, preparing them for life in the South. Three months' stay in this facility is mandatory for all North Koreans arriving in the south, with residents unable to leave of their own free will.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- government agency
- Official name
- 북한이탈주민정착지원사무소
- Country
- South Korea
- Located in
- Hwacheon County
- Parent organization
- Ministry of Unification
Show 2 more facts
- inception
- 1999-05-24
- nickname
- 하나원
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- History
- Operation
- Incidents
- References
The Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees (), commonly known as Hanawon (; "House of Unity"), is a South Korean facility for the "training for social adaptation" of North Korean defectors, preparing them for life in the South. Three months' stay in this facility is mandatory for all North Koreans arriving in the south, with residents unable to leave of their own free will.
== History == Hanawon opened on 8 July 1999, and is located about an hour south of Seoul in the countryside of Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. In her book Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, journalist Barbara Demick describes Hanawon as a cross between a trade school and a halfway house, and describes its purpose as teaching North Koreans how to live on their own in South Korea.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hanawon” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.