Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik were the only athletes from the isolated autocratic nation who formally qualified for the Olympics. On Wednesday, they finished among the top 12 pairs in the short program.
Researchers say the belief some South Koreans hold that North Koreans — who are the same ethnicity as South Koreans — are beast-like is a product of years of propaganda and misleading education.
On a beach resort in southern South Korea, the government sponsors camps each year where kids as young as 11 are taught about North Koreans, to prepare for a peaceful "reunification" — one day.
Assimilating into South Korean society is rarely easy for North Korean defectors. Top plastic surgeons are volunteering their services to help minimize the scars they bear from painful, abusive pasts.
