North Korea: GIS Study of the Slowed Migration of North Korean Refugees
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University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones Department of Geography and the Environment 11-20-2015 North Korea: GIS Study of the Slowed Migration of North Korean Refugees Brandi Hunnicutt Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone Part of the Geographic Information Sciences Commons, and the Human Geography Commons Recommended Citation Hunnicutt, Brandi, "North Korea: GIS Study of the Slowed Migration of North Korean Refugees" (2015). Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones. 64. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone/64 This Capstone is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Geography and the Environment at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. i N o rth K o rea : GIS Study of the Slowed M igration of North Korean Refugees Brandi Hunnicutt University of Denver Departm ent of Geography Capstone Project fo r M aster of Science in Geographic Information Science Novem ber 20, 2015 Hunnicutt- ii A b s tra c t: Since 2009, hum an rights organizations have noted an almost fifty- percent decrease of North Korean refugees reaching freedom in South Korea, when for so m any years there was a steady increase. Th is capston e paper evaluated the decline by taking two perspectives of research, one perspective being physical terrain changes or m odifications prohibiting the flow of refugees and a second approach of exam ining the lifestyle dem ographics of th e refugees w h o h ave su ccessfully crossed th e N orth K orean border. G eographic Inform ation System (G IS) t o o ls w e r e u t iliz e d t o determine that in both research approaches there is data indicating purposes for the decrease -- proving that not only is the North Korean governm ent to blam e for this reaction, but policy in asylum and non- asylum cou n tries w ere a ls o a c o n t r ib u t in g fa c t o r . Hunnicutt- iii C ontents Illustrations ................................................................................................................................ iv Introduction: ...............................................................................................................................1 Literature R evie w: .....................................................................................................................4 Design & Im plementation ..................................................................................................... 16 V ie w s h e d A n a ly s is : .............................................................................................................. 16 V iew sh ed R esu lts:............................................................................................................. 25 Least Cost Path Analysis .................................................................................................... 34 Least Co s t Pa th R es u lts: ................................................................................................. 39 Dem ographic Analysis: ....................................................................................................... 44 Demographic Results: ..................................................................................................... 45 A reas fo r Fu rther R esearch : ................................................................................................. 55 R eferences .................................................................................................................................. 59 Hunnicutt- iv Illustrations Map Page 1. M ou n tainous Te rrain at B orde r C rossing . .2 0 2. R ive r C rossing Poin ts . .2 2 3. V ie w s h e d o f R iv e r C ro s sin g P o in ts . .2 3 Im age 1. V ie w s hed O u tp u t O v e rlaid on G oogle E arth . .2 4 Map 4. Id e n tific ation o f N e w S tru ctu re s U s in g V ie w sh e d . .2 6 Im age 2. N e w S tru cture 1 . 2 7 3. N e w S tru cture 2 . 2 8 4. N e w S tru cture 3 . 2 9 5. N e w S tru cture 4 . 3 0 6. N e w S tru cture 5 . 3 1 7. N e w S tru cture 6 . 3 2 8. N e w S tru cture 7 . 3 3 9. N e w S tru cture 8 . 3 4 F ig u re 1. Le a s t C o s t P a th M o d e l. 3 8 Hunnicutt- v Map 5. Le a s t C o s t P a th O u tp u t. .4 0 Im age 10. N ew S tructure A long Chongsong P a th . 4 1 11. N e w S tru cture A lo n g Kyongwon Path. .4 2 12. N e w S tru cture A lo n g O n s o ng P a th . .4 4 F ig u re 2. Country of Preference. .4 6 Map 6. Refugee Population by Country (W orldwide) . 4 7 7. Journey from China to Mongolia. 4 9 8. Major Refugee Population Centers in China. .5 3 9. Econom ics of a N orth Korean Refugee. 5 6 Hunnicutt- 1 Introduction: In 2015, those tuned into m edia would have w itn essed th e m ass- m ig r a t io n of refugees originating from w ar - torn countries such as Iraq and Syria th at have becom e an operating ground for different terrorist factions com m itting abuses against the people. A s a resu lt, people are fleeing at a rate that watch organizations have a hard time accounting for and they are flo w in g out of these countries freely. W hat about the refugees we aren’t seeing flow out of nations that have deplorable health and welfare situations such as starvation, m alnourishm ent, and access to h ealth care -- p la c e s lik e N o r t h K orea? In a way, m any com parisons can be m ade between the refugee s it u a t io n s unfolding in the M id d le E a s t w ith th e situation th at face s th e N orth Korean people. The N orth K orean g o v e r n m e n t p a r t ic ip a t e s in propagand a , brain washing, intense fear cam paigns, imprisonm ent, and executions of its people, all in an effort to m ain tain regim e stability . This is m uch like w hat journalists have been reporting on the refugee situation in the M iddle East; people are fleeing with th eir fam ilies by the thousands to escape som eth ing similar being propagated by ISIS who wants the people of these regions to participate in a form of strict Islam . (Kingsley 2014) In a sense, the North K orean regim e is like its ow n religion w ith the leader of the D em ocratic R e p u b lic o f K o r e a ( DPRK) being a god- like figu re, an d if a citizen ch allen ges t h is o r der, their fate could be imprisonm ent for the person who com m itted t h e c r im e and three generations of their fam ily as well. (Chang 2012) Hunnicutt- 2 S etting th ese com parison s aside, one m ajor difference exists between these two regions, an d th at is fre e dom of trav e l ou t of th e cou n tries th e y are fle e in g . One m ain difference between North Korea and Iraq or Syria is the strict travel policy in w h ich it places on all of its citizen s. Freedom of travel within North Korea and outside of North Korea is prohibited for the average North Korean. The privilege of leaving the country is one granted to only the m ost tru ste d of gov e rn m e n t officials th at h av e prov e n th e ir loy alty to th e regime probably over m any generations. (Liberty in North Korea 2015) Leaving the country without the permission of the governm ent can be punishable by imprisonm ent, labor cam ps, or even death. A ccording to a hum an rights organization called Liberty in North Korea, It is illegal for th e North Korean people to leave their country without the regime’s perm ission, and the regime attem pts to restrict the people’s m ovem ent even inside their own country. If a North Korean w is h es to trav e l to an oth e r part of th e country, th e y are supposed to have a specific purpose and o b t a in p e r m is s io n from their work unit. If they do not live in Pyongyang, the showcase capital where m ost resources are concentrated, they w ill lik e ly b e d e n ie d a c c e s s . The regime has also forcibly relocated hundreds of thousands of North Koreans to less favorable parts of the country as a form of punishm ent and political persecution. (Liberty in North Korea 2015) T h e p r o h ib it io n s e x is t in an environm ent where the people outside of Pyongyang are helpless and Hunnicutt- 3 som etimes incapable of finding food, water, health care, or funds to acquire other item s needed for survival. (Cunningham 2007) Since the late 90’s, m an y N orth K orean s disregarded th is policy over th e search for food or a better way of life. Steady increases of refugees were n ote d each year reaching asylum in South Korea; however, since 2009, the num ber of refugees arriving to countries of asylum have dropped sign ifican tly.