Since the division of the Korean peninsula over 70 years ago, South Korea and North Korea have faced growing language barriers due to political, cultural, and economic differences. This creates difficulties for the 27,000 North Korean defectors who reside in South Korea as they struggle to understand the modern lingo and language. Basic everyday words such as "ice cream," "rainbow," and even "peppers" are totally different and elicit confusion between North Koreans and South Koreans. In fact, one study showed that students who had defected from North Korea understood only 50% of terms in textbooks, burdening them with learning difficulties. 

However, Dream Touch For All, a South Korean non-profit educational organization, has stepped in with an app to address these language barriers. Called "UniVoca," this app simply requires users to scan the unfamiliar word, which is then translated into familiar words for North Korean. Through this app, North Korean defectors can learn to adjust and adapt to their new lives in South Korea, with everyday tasks such as studying and shopping made much easier to carry out. 

However, Dream Touch For All has even more ambitious goals for this new app: the possibility of reunification. Although it seems to be a distant and impossible goal, this app may even be the first step as it improves channels of communication and learning for North Koreans.

Head of the education department Dr. Jens Huttmann agrees, saying, "The young North Koreans should receive good education so that they can play the key role in future reunification." 

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