hankyoreh

A mother and child, aged 42 and 6, that had defected from North Korea were found dead in an apartment in Seoul’s Gwanak District on July 31. However, the bodies remained undiscovered for two months before anybody bothered to investigate. Even though a neighbor commented that “a strange smell” had started emanated from the room, which bugs had gathered around. It wasn’t until a water meter inspector decided to call the number on the registry that something suspicious was going on June 30. However, the person who answered was someone else, who simply said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It wasn’t until another month that another water meter inspector decided to call the maintenance office, who then called the police. After defecting, the mother got married to a Chinese man and lived in China, but then divorced and came to South Korea, where she lived in isolation. Her death is causing some to speak of the need for a government support system for North Korean defectors.