The Korea Hana Foundation on Tuesday released its survey of around 2,500 North Korean defectors who arrived in Seoul between January 1997 and December last year.
This year's survey, conducted through face-to-face interviews by about 76 specialized counselors, with a response rate of 86.4 percent or around 2,160 respondents, found that 81.2 percent were content with life in South Korea, up 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier and the highest level since the survey began in 2011.
"Freedom" was the most common reason for satisfaction, cited by 41.5 percent, while 24.3 percent pointed to "separation from family" as the main reason for dissatisfaction.
Some 14 percent said they experienced discrimination or were looked down on in the past year for being defectors, down 2.3 percentage points from the previous year and the lowest on record.
Some 61.6 percent expressed satisfaction with their social and economic achievements, and 72.2 percent believed they could improve the social and economic status of themselves and their children.
Wage gaps, however, still remain, with their average monthly income at 2.61 million won, compared to 3.20 million won for ordinary South Koreans.
About 61.3 percent were employed, slightly lower than their compatriots in the South.
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