However, ultimately the term “Kkotjebi” was born upon the lips of North Korean refugees. Statements of North Korean refugees define the Kkotjebis as homeless children and teens under 20 years of age who forage for food and pickpocket for money.
These homeless tramps were brought to light in a South Korean documentary that was broadcasted on December 10, 2010. The documentary showed the horrible scene of an extremely thin and unkempt North Korean woman in her early 20s eating clovers in a vast rice field. A tremendous shock to the South Korean audience, the people began to gear their attention toward the Kkotjebis.
Courtesy to New Daily
Witnesses state that the conditions of these Kkotjebis are absolutely horrendous. North Korean streets are relatively clean due to the government’s harsh enforcements on garbage disposal. The children thus have an extremely difficult time finding food for themselves. The most they can eventually gather are tiny grains of corn and rice that were dropped around marketplaces. Most of the children are forced to wear ripped shoes and ragged clothes. During the winter, it is not uncommon for the children to be inflicted with frost bites all over their body. Fleas, lice, and hives teem their delicate skin.