Health care Resources

North Korean refugees residing in South Korea and the United States face many difficulties in accessing health services.

In particular, the financial burden, language barrier, limited knowledge, fear of deportation, and cultural stigma of using health services often deter North Korean refugees from seeking professional help for trauma, depression, and related issues. Providing free access to physical and mental health services is a fundamental step to ensuring that people of North Korean refugee backgrounds are able to thrive in their careers and everyday life. 

The Health Care Department at Aurora NK focuses on addressing these concerns with a partnership-based approach, working with existing organizations to connect people of North Korean refugee backgrounds to free health services. 

South Korea:

In South Korea, we provide the following three health programs free of cost to North Korean refugees. The mental health programs are valued at $780 per individual person and are provided free of cost to refugee patients, thanks to supporting from Free Med and the Ministry of Unification.

  • 1: Counseling Program

    (In partnership with Free Med and Maeum-sup)

    The Counseling Program provides 6 hours of either 1:1 or group psychotherapy (by choice of the patient).

  • 2: Counseling Coaching Program

    (In partnership with Free Med and Maeum-sup)

    The Counseling Coaching Program provides training to refugees who want to learn how to provide peer counseling to other refugees. There are 2 levels of coaching: basic (20 hours) and advanced (40 hours). 

  • 3: Health Care Education Program

    (In partnership with Free Med)

    The Health Care Education Program provides information to refugee participants on the topics of oral health and chronic diseases.

  • Our current partners are as follows:

    Free Med is a non-profit medical organization that carries out various medical projects and campaigns under the mission of “creating a new culture that delivers the value of life to the medical blind spots of the global village based on young people's passion and a strong sense of responsibility.” (Instagram, website)

  • 마음숲 (Rom.: Maeum-sup) is a project by the Ministry of Unification of the South Korean government. The Ministry of Unification aims to build a culture of peace by promoting inter-Korean integration through promoting mutual communication between North Korean defectors and ordinary citizens. (Website)

United states:

In the United States, we are partnering with Korean medicine clinics in Los Angeles to provide free treatments and health check-ups to North Korean refugees living in Los Angeles. We are also planning potential mobile Korean medicine and orthopedics clinic if the need is high. If you are a North Korean refugee living in Los Angeles interested in visiting the Korean medicine clinics, please email us at aurora.nk.la@gmail.com