Korean Refugees and Aid Work in International Perspective

Considering its scale and the extent of human suffering, far too little is known about the refugee crisis in Korea and the aid programmes that were intended to alleviate the suffering of refugees. Most scholarship on the political history of modern Korea – this seems to be true of the Korean-language literature as well as work in English – has paid only fleeting attention to the refugee crisis, and although contemporary descriptions of the crisis and the associated relief effort directed some attention to energetic attempts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to alleviate the suffering of refugees, these accounts were soon overtaken by events elsewhere. The caravan of humanitarian relief moved on, consigning the story of Korean relief to the margins.

A longer version of my paper begins by locating the Korean refugee crisis in the context of other sites of population displacement. The refugee crisis in Korea erupted at a time when the newly-formed United Nations, member states, and NGOs were grappling with crises in central Europe, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, and Hong Kong. In the shorter version, in addition to accounting for mass population displacement, I seek to shed light on what emergency relief programmes as well as ‘durable solutions’ were conceived and implemented on behalf of Korean refugees.

Questions posed by contemporary aid workers, particularly those who worked for the Society of Friends (Quakers), remain pertinent in the present day. What entitlements were refugees entitled to expect? Were they regarded as an asset or a burden, or a combination of the two? Who had claims upon the refugee, whether as a figure of need or as a prospective citizen? What were the limits to humanitarian aid, if society continued to prepare for war, and was it not better to prepare for peace? Could one imagine a world without refugees? Aid programmes had significant achievements to their credit, but they tell us as much if not more about the motives and objectives of NGOs and aid workers than they do about refugees.

I conclude that there were elements to the Korean refugee crisis that were sui generis. First, the battle lines of the Cold War were clearly drawn in a way that they were not in the Middle East and in South Asia. Second, the emerging authoritarian regime in South Korea had little in common with governments elsewhere that were struggling to cope with mass population displacement.