Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3743/KOSIM.2022.39.3.241

A Study on the Information Poverty of North Korean Refugees in South Korea: Based on Chatman's Information Poverty  

Min, Soo Jin (성균관대학교 문헌정보학과)
Yi, Yong Jeong (성균관대학교 글로벌융합학부)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society for information Management / v.39, no.3, 2022 , pp. 241-261 More about this Journal
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the effects of information poverty on North Korean refugees' social adaptation to South Korea based on Chatman's Theory of Information Poverty (1996). Based on the Theory of Information Poverty, information poverty consists of four variables: Secrecy, Deception, Risk-taking, and information acceptance in response to situational relevance. And based on the previous studies, adaptation to South Korean life is divided into social adaptation and psychological adaptation. From August 4 to August 30, 2021, after approval by the IRB through the North Korean refugee support organization , surveys were conducted with North Korean refugees who had lived in South Korea for at least one year and were aged 19 or older. The 100 collected valid data were analyzed using frequency analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings of the study indicated that information poverty had significant effects on North Korean refugees' social and psychological adaptation. In particular, the "deception" variable had negative effects on social and psychological adaptation. The study has theoretical implications that it explains North Korean refugees' adaptation to South Korea based on Theory of Information Poverty by defining them as information poor. Above all, it attempts a quantitative approach through operationalization of key concepts unlike previous studies that were conducted with qualitative approaches.
Keywords
information poverty; information behavior; social adaptation; north korean refugees; quantitative study;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 4  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Kim, Jae Yop, Choi, Ji Hyeon, & Ryou, Won Jung (2012). Impact of PTSD on North Korean defector's social adjustment in South Korea: focused on the moderating effect of resilience and social interaction. Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies, 43(4), 343-367. https://doi.org/10.16999/kasws.2012.43.4.343   DOI
2 Lee, In Hee & Choi, Hee Jung (2017). Factors influencing social adaptation of North Korean defectors. Journal of Korean Public Health Nurse, 31(2), 341-352. https://doi.org/10.5932/JKPHN.2017.31.2.341   DOI
3 Lee, Jae-Whoan (2006). Information poverty of korean residents in Japan. Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science, 40(2), 33-58.   DOI
4 Ministry of Unification (2019a). 2019 Handbook of Settlement Support for North Korean Refugees.
5 Nha, Wonho (2017). The Impact of Settlement Support for North Korean Defectors on their Social Adjustment: Analyzing the Social Network Effects. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Public Administration Graduate School, Myongji University.
6 Seo, Ok-Youn & Chang, Durk-Hyun (2008). Information poverty viewed through the families of children with developmental disabilities. Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science, 19(2), 107-128.   DOI
7 Britz, J. J. & Blignaut, J. N. (2001). Information poverty and social justice. South African Journal of Library and Information Science, 67(2), 63-69.
8 Chatman, E. A. (1996). The impoverished life-world of outsiders. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(3), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199603)47:3<193::AID-ASI3>3.0.CO;2-T   DOI
9 Hersberger, J. A. (2001). Everyday information needs and information sources of homeless parents. The New Review of Information Behaviour Research: Studies of Information Seeking in Context, 2, 119-134.
10 Larson, D. G. & Chastain, R. L. (1990). Self-concealment: conceptualization, measurement, and health implications. Journal of Social and Clinical Pyschology, 9(4), 439-455. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.439   DOI
11 Spink, A. & Cole, C. (2001). Information and poverty: information-seeking channels used by African American low-income households. Library & Information Science Research, 23, 45-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0740-8188(00)00067-0   DOI
12 Lee, Jae-Whoan & Youn, You-Ra (2005). Life and information poverty of foreign labor 'H'. Journal of the Korean Biblia Society for Library and Information Science, 16(1), 181-202.
13 Cho, Dong-Woon (2015). A study on the plan of early settlement North Korean defectors. Korean Police Studies Review, 14(2), 427-449.
14 Cho, Jung-Hun (2017. September 25.). Increase in North Korean defectors dealing with narcotics. Tongil News. Available: http://www.tongilnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=122267
15 Jang, Joon Oh & Ko, Sung Ho (2010). North Korean defectors: crime & countermeasures. Korean Institute of Criminology Report. Seoul: Korean Institute of Criminology, 10-6.
16 Jung, Jung-Ae, Son, Young-Chul, & Lee, Jeong-Hwa (2013). A study on defecting motive and social adaptation of North Korean defectors in South Korea: Focusing on Moderating Effect of Resilience. Unification Policy Studies, 22(2), 215-248.
17 Kwon, Tae-Hun (2019. October 16.). Park, Joo-sun "Caught 12 North Korean Refugees attempting to re-enter North Korea in the past 5 years." SBS News. Available: https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1005481528
18 Lee, Heung Pyo (2002). The Relationship of Irrational Gambling Belief, Gambling Motive, and Risk Taking with Pathological Gambling. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Psychology, Korea University.
19 Lee, Jae Min & Hwang, Sun Young (2008). Identifying factors affecting the adaptation of North Korean refugees in South Korea. Social Welfare Policy, 33, 61-84. https://doi.org/10.15855/swp.2008..33.61   DOI
20 Lee, Jae-Whoan (2019). Information poverty of minorities and responsibilities of libraries in Korean society. Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society, 50(4), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.16981/kliss.50.4.201912.1   DOI
21 Lee, Jae-Whoan, Lee, Yeon-Ok, & Chang, Duk-Hyun (2004). Methodology in information behavior research of minority groups. Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society, 25(2), 1-23.
22 Ministry of Unification (2019b). 2019 Unification White Paper.
23 Ministry of Unification (2022). 2022 Unification White Paper.
24 North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act. Act No. 18596.
25 Park, Mi-Ran & Lee, Jee-Yon (2008). Construct exploration and validation of self-concealment scale. The Korea Journal of Counseling, 9(4), 1547-1565. http://doi.org/10.15703/kjc.9.4.200812.1547   DOI
26 Shin, Ye-Jung (2000). A Study on the Social Life and Adaptation of North Korean Refugees. Master's thesis, Department of Sociology, Ewha Womans University.
27 Daza, G. B. & Gigler, B. (2007). The concept of information poverty and how to measure It in the Latin American context. Semantic Scholar. Available: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Concept-of-Information-Poverty-and-How-to-It-in-Barja-Gigler/e71b2ea31cf3760ef87e39a3beb6a85a75e220d9?p2df
28 Yeon, Jieun (2018). Employment Information Needs and Information Behavior of North Korean Refugees. Master's thesis, Department of Library and Information Science, Yonsei University.
29 Chatman, E. A. (1991). Life in a small world: applicability of gratification theory to informationseeking behavior. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(6), 438-449. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199107)42:6<438::AID-ASI6>3.0.CO;2-B   DOI
30 Chatman, E. A. (1992). The Information World of Retired Women. Westport: Greenwood Press.
31 Goulding, A. (2001). Information poverty or overload?. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 33(3), 109-111. https://doi.org/10.1177/096100060103300301   DOI
32 Knowels, E. S., Cutter, H. S. G., Walsh, D. H., & Casey, N. A. (1973). Risk-taking as a personality trait. Social Behavior and Personality, 1(2), 123-129. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1973.1.2.123   DOI
33 Koo, J. H. (2016). Information-seeking within negative affect: lessons from North Korean refugees' everyday information practices within PTSD. Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science, 50(1), 285-312. http://doi.org/10.4275/KSLIS.2016.50.1.285   DOI
34 Markwei, E. & Rasmussen, E. (2015). Everyday life information-seeking behavior of marginalized youth: a qualitative study of urban homeless youth in Ghana. International Information & Library Review, 47(1-2), 11-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2015.1039425   DOI
35 Cho, Yong-Wan (2006). Information Behavior and Information Poverty of North Korean Refugees. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Library, Archive and Information Studies, Pusan National University.
36 Sabelli, M., Rasner, J., Giffoni, M. C. P., & Pedrosian, E. A. (2013). The information and communication strategies focused on young people and adolescents within the field of public health. In Handbook of Research on ICTs and Management Systems for Improving Efficiency in Healthcare and Social Care. Hershey: IGI Global, 247-267.
37 Thompson, K. M. (2007). Furthering understanding of information literacy through the social study of information poverty. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 31(1), 87-115.
38 Yu, L. (2010). How poor informationally are the information poor?: evidence from an empirical study of daily and regular information practices of individuals. Journal of Dicumentation, 66(6), 906-933. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411011087869   DOI
39 Chang, Duk-Hyun (2005). Information poverty of the urban poor and the role of public library services in bridging the digital divide: an ethnography. Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society, 36(1), 219-236.
40 Cho, Choon-Bum & Han, Ki-Ju (2017). Differences in social adjustment of North Korean refugees according to demographic and social characteristics and social adaptation in South Korea. Multiculture & Peace, 11(1), 271-292. https://doi.org/10.22446/mnpisk.2017.11.1.011   DOI