One of the linguistic shocks faced by North Korean defectors upon their arrival in South Korea involves the relationship between the words nakji and ojingeo. In South Korea, these words mean “octopus” and “squid” respectively, but in North Korea, the meanings are reversed.
One defector recalls inviting South Korean coworkers to have soju with ojingeo. The coworkers, expecting squid, were surprised to find themselves at a restaurant serving octopus. This episode illustrates how shared words with completely different meanings create unexpected linguistic barriers for North Korean defectors trying to adjust to life in the South.
Many South Koreans assume that since their North Korean compatriots use the same writing system — hangul — defectors should have little trouble communicating. But language isn’t merely a communication tool; it’s also a vessel containing the culture and mindset of the society where it develops.
After Korea’s division in 1945 and the adoption of conflicting ideologies, contact between the two sides ceased, causing the language gap to gradually widen. South Korea adopted the Seoul dialect as its “standard language,” while North Korea declared the Pyongyang dialect to be its “cultural language.”
Over the decades, South and North Korean dialects have evolved in different directions, creating considerable discrepancies. The linguistic challenges defectors face go beyond accent differences, including a complex mixture of words that sound the same but have different meanings, words that sound different but mean the same thing, and South Korea’s rapidly changing slang and foreign loanwords.
These linguistic differences create more than just communication difficulties for defectors — they impact their identity and psychological well-being. This analysis examines specific examples of linguistic differences encountered by defectors and the resulting challenges they face during settlement.
The linguistic maze of defectors’ daily lives
Homophones: the first stumbling block
One of the most confusing aspects of language for North Korean defectors is homophones — words that sound identical but have different meanings. For example, bongsa means “service” in North Korea but typically refers to “volunteering” (jawon bongsa) in South Korea. If a defector says “our store has good service (bongsa),” South Koreans might wonder whether the store relies on volunteers.
Another example is dongji (comrade), which in North Korea refers to members of a revolutionary group fighting for the same cause. In South Korea, the word simply means like-minded individuals. These examples show how identical-sounding words with different meanings create major communication barriers between defectors and South Koreans.
Regional variations: different words for the same thing
Another obstacle for North Korean defectors is regional vocabulary differences — when the same concept is expressed with partially or completely different words:
- Corn: gangnaengi (North) / oksusu (South)
- Sugar: satang-garu (“candy powder”) (North) / seoltang (South)
- Refrigerator: raengdonggi (North) / naengjanggo (South)
- Mobile phone: son-jeonghwa (“hand phone”) (North) / haendeu-pon (transliterated “hand phone”) (South)
When dialects use completely different words for the same concept, North Korean defectors often struggle to understand everyday conversations, frequently making them more hesitant to engage socially.
Foreign words and slang: barriers to understanding
Unlike North Korea, South Korean society extensively uses loanwords in technology, finance, and culture. English-derived words like “computer,” “café,” and “internet” are ubiquitous in the South but virtually unknown in the North, creating challenges for defectors encountering them for the first time.
Modern slang expressions — enthusiastically adopted by younger generations — are also difficult for defectors to understand. These include phrases like gatsaeng (“god” + “life,” meaning a highly productive lifestyle), peullekseu (from “flex,” meaning conspicuous consumption), and danggeun-hada (using the resale app Danggeun Market).
These expressions represent more than simple vocabulary differences; they’re essential social codes for creating belonging and inclusion. Defectors unfamiliar with this code feel excluded and gradually avoid conversation.
Psychological burden and social impact
These linguistic differences impose significant psychological burdens on North Korean defectors. Anxiety about sounding different reduces their desire to speak and ultimately hinders social relationship formation. Every spoken word reinforces their sense of difference, lowering self-esteem and undermining identity.
Defectors also feel pressured to abandon familiar words and accents from their time in North Korea. Having their speech considered “wrong” in South Korean society negatively impacts their ability to settle successfully. These issues are often worsened by South Korean ignorance and prejudice.
Meaningful support and mutual understanding: paths toward linguistic adaptation
Language isn’t just communication — it reflects society’s culture and identity. For defectors to successfully settle in South Korean society, they need concrete assistance to bridge these linguistic differences.
First, central and local governments should provide more language classes addressing specific linguistic differences between South and North Korea, including homophones, regional variations, and foreign loanwords. Defectors could learn frequently used everyday expressions and practice conversational skills to adapt more quickly to South Korean society.
Second, more public education programs should help South Koreans better understand North Korean language and culture. Implementing programs in schools, workplaces, and communities to improve attitudes toward defectors and promote communication is crucial for reducing mutual stereotypes and misunderstandings.
Third, we need long-term linguistic unification policies recognizing that language differences between South and North Korea pose major challenges for social integration and eventual unification. This requires organizations specializing in comparative research of South and North Korean dialects and strategies for improving standard language and linguistic integration during unification.
Finally, North Korean defectors need counseling and other support to reduce the individual psychological burden of adapting to South Korea’s linguistic environment. Providing customized support to prevent low self-esteem and alienation caused by linguistic differences while building pride in being part of society will facilitate stable settlement and South-North integration.
In 2009, South and North Korean scholars began work on a comprehensive pan-Korean dictionary called Gyeoremal-Keunsajeon (“great dictionary of the national language”). Scholars from both sides reached primary consensus on approximately 125,000 words, but work stopped when inter-Korean relations cooled in 2016.
Language is one of the greatest commonalities between South and North Korea — it’s both a communication tool and a cultural bridge. When South and North Korea understand and respect each other’s languages, the path to genuine integration will open.