Koreans in the Czech Republic

[8][9] M-Plus, a Czech labour broker company with contacts in the North Korean Ministry of Light Industry, arranged most of their visas and employment contracts.

The workers were typically women between 18 and 22 years of age, and came from politically reliable families; they saw their assignment to the Czech Republic as a reward and a good opportunity to earn money.

[10] According to media reports, about half eventually learned to speak Czech and sometimes socialised with the other workers at their factories, primarily Ukrainian migrants and local people, discussing work-related topics.

European media coverage described the workers as "21st-century slaves", a characterisation which their employers strongly disputed, pointing out that their wages, work hours, and overtime payments were the same as their colleagues of other nationalities.

[8] Media figures later speculated that the widespread coverage of the North Korean workers' plight had made them feel threatened, and that the publicity may have actually damaged their standing and put their families in danger.

[11] A 2006 Czech police investigation revealed that the women deposited nearly 80% of their wages into a collective bank account; this was further corroborated by testimony from defector Kim Tae-san, formerly an official at the North Korean embassy in Prague.