Kim Hyung Duk escaped from North Korea at the age of 20, his body covered with torture scars from North Korean police. But once in the south he found the alien culture and indifference of the authorities too much to bear. He was caught at the port of Ulsan stowed away on a ship bound for China, trying to go home. Defectors such as the Cho family enjoy luxuries unheard of in the north yet are regarded with suspicion by neighbours for the support they receive from the government. Others such as Kim Young Seh hold a burden of guilt. The wife he left behind in the north was forced to marry someone else. Unusually, Dr Lee Keum admits publicly that the government is not as keen on reunification as it once was. However, South Koreans are becoming less eager to take on the burden of their northern neighbours.

Produced by ABC Australia