Performers sing during the 2026 Festival for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula (translated) at Expo Civic Plaza in Daejeon on Oct. 3.KIM SUNG-TAE
A 45-year-old woman surnamed Kwon who currently lives in Daejeon fled North Korea in February 2004 when she was 23. Her family had fallen into severe financial hardship after her father was taken away without explanation by North Korea's National Intelligence Agency, formerly the Ministry of State Security, and never returned, Kwon said. Struggling to survive, she crossed the Tumen River alone.
She lived in China for 16 years before settling in Daejeon in 2020. Kwon, who married in China and has two children, is now studying social welfare at a university.
“My dream is to earn a social worker certification and find a job,” Kwon said. “I want to live like an ordinary person in South Korea.”
Many people like Kwon who fled North Korea and now live in South Korea gathered for the 2026 Festival for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula (translated), hosted by the nonprofit organization Baekdu-Halla Association (translated) at Expo Civic Plaza in Yuseong District, Daejeon, on Saturday.
About 900 North Korean defectors from across the country attended the festival, which ran from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event was organized to bring locals and North Korean defectors together to share the values of mutual prosperity and peaceful coexistence and to build public understanding through performances and hands-on activities for young people and families. Around 40 local institutions and companies, including the Daejeon Metropolitan City government, Seo District government and the Daejeonlove Citizens Conference, sponsored the event.
The Baekdu-Halla art troupe, a performing arts group made up of North Korean defectors, gave a special performance on the main stage. Tenor Jang Kyung-hwan joined the troupe to perform songs including “Longing for Mount Kumgang” (translated) and “On a Wonderful Day in October” (translated).
A performance takes place during the 2026 Festival for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula (translated) at Expo Civic Plaza in Daejeon on Oct. 3.KIM SUNG-TAE
The event also featured a Nanta performance, a fashion show featuring older adult models and a performance expressing the hope of peaceful coexistence and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
Around 10 activity booths were set up at the venue, which offered programs for attendees, including North Korean food tastings, traditional games such as jegi chagi (Korean hacky sack) and yutnori (a traditional Korean board game) and other cultural activities. North Korean dishes on offer included injogogibap (rice topped with artificial meat), sokdojeon-tteok (rice cake made from cornmeal) and tofu rice.
A volunteer booth offering DNA testing to help reunite separated families was also set up, with about 70 North Korean defectors participating.
The Baekdu-Halla Association is a volunteer organization with about 700 members, including North Korean defectors living in the Daejeon area. It was founded in 2007 by Kang Soon-hee, who fled North Korea.
The association has worked to help North Korean defectors become self-reliant through scholarships and vocational training. It also carries out volunteer work for residents, including making kimchi and providing free meals.
A volunteer DNA testing booth for separated families is set up at the 2026 Festival for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula (translated) in Daejeon on Oct. 3.KIM SUNG-TAE
“This is the first time North Korean defectors from across the country have gathered in one place for a festival like this,” Kang said. “I hope this event helps build greater understanding of the importance of peace.”
About 35,000 North Korean defectors are believed to be living in South Korea.
Kang crossed the Tumen River in 2005 and traveled through China before arriving in South Korea. She has lived in Daejeon ever since, where she married, founded the Baekdu-Halla Association and has carried out volunteer work in the local community.
“After my father, who was a military officer, died of an illness in March 1993, there was no food left at home, and my mother died that December after she could no longer endure the hunger,” Kang said in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo. “I thought I would starve to death too, so I left my family behind and fled North Korea alone.”
“Under the current circumstances, providing aid to North Korea would only end up supporting things such as its nuclear weapons development and would do nothing to help starving residents,” Kang continued. “Our government should say what needs to be said to North Korea and stand its ground.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
