40 have many expectations towards the future. Because their high expectations towards the future can, in comparison with other age groups, outweigh the apprehension of dangers attributed to flight, they can be considered to take a more active stance in developing motives and deciding on escape than other generational groups. As the distribution with regard to place of origin shows in <Table 3-6>, persons coming from North Hamgyeong Province constitute the largest group amongst the survey respondents with 67.7%. This resembles the average regional distribution of North Korean refugees found in other studies. Since persons coming from Yanggang Province and South Hamgyeong Province form the second and third largest groups, it confirms that North Koreans from areas adjacent to the border are highly represented amongst North Korean refugees. This is an indicator for a pattern which has been structuralized to some degree subsequent to the economic difficulties of North Korea in the mid1990s. <Table 3-6> Distribution of survey respondents by main area of origin Main area of residence Number of persons Percentage (%) North Hamgyeong Province 168 67.7 South Hamgyeong Province 25 10.1 North Pyeongan Province 3 1.2 South Pyeongan Province 4 1.6 Yanggang Province 26 10.5 North Hwanghae Province 5 2.0 South Hwanghae Province 1 0.4 Jagang Province 1 0.4 Gangwon Province 9 3.6 Sum 242 97.6 No answer 6 2.4 Total 248 100.0 This structuralized pattern can be explained less by the fact that fleeing North Korea from areas close to the border is easier, but by considering that these areas rely on agricultural production only to a minor extent as they have a relatively low agricultural