• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was conducted to find out health behaviors and health promotion behaviors and their influencing factors among North Korean refugee adolescents. Methods: All the 139 students registered in a specialization school which provided regular school curriculum for the North Korean refugee adolescents participated in the survey. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Current smoking, alcohol drinking and experience of depression in North Korean refugee adolescents were more prevalent than those of South Korean adolescents. Self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support were identified as factors affecting health promotion behavior. Conclusions: Health promotion program is needed to reduce the North Korean refugee adolescents' depression and to stop smoking and drinking. In the process of creating these programs, of creating program, we should consider self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support in the educational method to make these programs be effective.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.431-441
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• 2013

Purpose: The study was done to explore meanings and essence of the experience in South Korea of men defectors from North Korea. Methods: Data were collected from March, 2011 to May, 2012, through in-depth interviews with ten men defectors. Data analysis was conducted using the process of hermeneutic phenomenological reflection. Results: Eight essential themes were extracted; 'buoyant expectation for a new life', 'feeling guilty about family left behind in North Korea', 'inability to become acclimatized due to communication difficulties', 'inability to socialize with South Koreans due to different lifestyles', 'finding strength through trustworthy acquaintances', 'continuing reconciliation with oneself while trying to assimilate into South Korean culture', 'self-realization of one's original self', and 'continuing to feel out the possibility of a future in South Korea'. Conclusion: The findings indicate that North Korean men who defect to South Korea shape their identity through three phases: forming self-image during escape from North Korea, trying to become accustomed to South Korean society, and finding their own identity by self-realization of their original self. Eventually, the whole process enables them to recover their identity, to feel a sense of belonging, and to discover possibilities for a better future.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.46-59
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• 2019

Purpose: To determine associations of traumatic events and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with sexual autonomy and identify factors influencing sexual autonomy among female university students of North Korean defectors. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed with a total of 103 female students who completed a structured online self-report survey from January 7 to March 31, 2018. This study was conducted using questionnaires on interpersonal trauma scale, the Traumatic Scale for North Korean Refugees (TSNKR), and sexual autonomy measurement for college students. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression with SPSS WIN 23.0 program. Results: Traumatic events, PTSD, and sexual autonomy scores were $3.96{\pm}3.07$, $31.47{\pm}10.75$, and $52.66{\pm}6.89$, respectively. PTSD was positively correlated with traumatic events (r=.22, p=.030). Sexual autonomy was inversely correlated with PTSD (r=-.25, p=.010). Contraceptive use, PTSD, and voluntary sexual debut explained 26% of sexual autonomy of participants. Conclusion: To improve sexual autonomy of young women from North Korea, reproductive intervention programs including contraception, sexual assertiveness training, and psychoeducation to reduce PTSD need to be developed and implemented.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.80-91
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• 2022

Purpose: This study developed an instrument to evaluate the health empowerment of North Korean women refugees and examined its validity and reliability. Methods: Through literature review and focused group interviews, 66 preliminary items with three constructs, including perceived control, perceived competence, and goal internalization were selected based on Menon's psychological health empowerment model. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 239 North Korean women refugees in the community from August 31 to September 4, 2020. Content, construct, convergent, and discriminative validity were evaluated. Cronbach's α was used to evaluate the reliability of scale. Results: The final instrument consisted of 31 items with three factors that were identified through confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent validity showed that the correlation coefficient was .52 (p < .001), which confirmed the validity of the developed measurement tool. Cronbach's α for all the items was .94, and Cronbach's α for the factors was .76~.91. Conclusion: This health empowerment scale has been developed to include aspects of health empowerment, provide a conceptual framework, and offer objective indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of a health education program.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.313-322
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• 2019

This study poses a question on whether the Jangmadang Generation, which has been the focus of the sociological interest, can form an actual generation by transcending the social classes, status of students, ethnicity, and gender, etc. Therefore, in this study, the author compared the consciousness of the Jangmadang Generation in terms of politics, education, society, compliance with law, and education with their preceding generations. The data used in this study were gathered from the North Korean defectors who defected within the past five years over the period from November to December 2016. A total of 200 questionnaires were used for data analysis, which was conducted using SPSS 20.0, in order to show differences between groups and perform frequency analysis. The analysis results showed that the consciousness of the Jangmadang Generation in politics, society, compliance, and education was lower, while the economic consciousness was significantly higher compared to earlier generations. As their objective generational status, the Jangmadang Generation had experienced the 'March of Ordeal' and 'Collapse of Public Education' while they were still teenagers. Such a difference in their generational status influenced the formation of different consciousness as a generation compared to the earlier generations. Compared to the earlier generations who received 'proper public education,' the Jangmadang Generation, who did not receive 'decent public education' shows a generally lower level of consciousness compared to the earlier generations. As such, the Jangmadang Generation has the potential to form a separate generation with a different generation consciousness from that of earlier generations.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth. Methods: This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018. Results: Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life. Conclusion: This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.47-72
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• 2016

According to the survey by the Ministry of Unification, 28,133 live in South Korea as of september 2015 and the number has been steadily increased. It is interesting to note that the majority of defectors were women. Statistics say that the total of women defectors was 1,138 in 2002 and consisted of 55.5%. But the number increased to 2,706 in 2011 and consisted of 70.5%(Wikipedia, 2015). Most of them have trauma, because they experienced terrible events like prostitution, sexual abuse, domestic violence, etc. while they were living in South Korea. They had to get over a lot of challenges they never expected. They had to do whatever they need to do for their survival in South Korea as well as in North Korea. Objectives: This study focuses on identifying the psychosocial resources available for them in order to help them out living here. Method: For this purpose, this study conducted unstructured in-depth interviews with four women defectors from North Korea. Their age bracket is between the ages of 50 and 58 and they have stayed over five years in South Korea. They were recommended by social welfare workers, who had dealt with them over 20 years. For the reliability of this study, the three methods were performed such as three-month close relationship, three-person triangular verification, and diversification of resources-the field notes and observation notes. Results: As a result of this study, the resources may be labeled into three main clusters of themes such as 1) Self-Preservation - 'Self-Love', 'Family-Attachment', 'Share the Goods', 'Live in Harmony', 'Avoidance of conflict'; 2) Self-Conquest - 'Endurance', 'Earnestness and Effort', 'My own Activities', 'Chat', 'Put Down', 'Appreciation and Optimism'; 3) Self-Presence Awareness - 'I was a Precious Daughter', 'I am Mother'. Also there are thirteen sub categories to be considered. Conclusions: This study focuses on identifying how women defectors have used or can use the psychosocial resources available for them, rather than what they have struggled with. It is meaningful to identify in a positive light that this study provides how they have adjusted to a totally different context for their survival and what psychosocial resources they have used. This study can give an idea about how they may receive proper and practical help from the government programs in order to become better used to new living circumstances in South Korea. As well, this study can provide meaningful criteria and guidance with family life educators for women defectors and social workers working in counseling and social welfare areas. This study contributes to better understanding about how they are using these psychosocial resources.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the satisfaction levels and mental health among North Korean defectors over two years. Methods : At the beginning of the study, the subjects were comprised of 300 North Korean defectors registered with a regional adaptation center (the Hana Center) in South Korea. Participants reported self-questionnaires including socio-demographic variables and self-rating scales for satisfaction levels, depression symptoms, trauma-related symptoms, resilience and alcohol use behavior. In the follow up study after two years, 189 North Korean defectors participated in an online survey, responding to the same questionnaires as at baseline. Results : The self-rated scores for satisfaction with one's overall life (p=0.008), sense of autonomy (p=0.001), sense of physical health (p<0.001), and expected life satisfaction five years later (p<0.001) had all decreased significantly at follow-up after two years. Depression symptoms (p<0.01) and trauma-related symptoms (p<0.001) increased significantly over two years, and the resilience score (p<0.01) decreased significantly during the same period. No significant differences in alcohol use behavior (p=0.059) were observed at follow-up. Conclusion : Satisfaction levels among North Korean defectors gradually decreased over the follow-up period, and this may be due to the difficulties encountered in the process of assimilating to daily life in South Korea. Economic, medical, and psychological support is needed for successful assimilation of North Korean defectors.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.455-470
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate of the North Korean adolescents defectors' mathematics learning. We have investgated the characteristics of the North Korean adolescents defectors' mathematics learning states and their difficulties in mathematics learning. As a result, the affective domain of the North Korean adolescents defectors was less confident, worthy, and motivated to learn than the South Korean students. The abandonment rate of the North Korean adolescents defectors was higher than that of the South Korean students. According to the results of the survey, the North Korean adolescents defectors who attended elementary school in Korea compared to the births of the North Koreans and other countries had higher interest and desire for learning. Especially, the result showed that the difficulty of learning the mathematics of the North Korean defectors was the linguistic factor.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2015

Objective : To translate Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) into North Korean language and to examine its reliability and validity Methods : North Korean defectors (n=207) recruited from the call center for North Korean defectors participated. Psychiatrists and psychiatric residents interviewed the participants and made the psychiatric diagnoses. Subsequently, the participants completed the CES-D, Impact of Event-Scale-Revised-North Korea (IES-R-NK), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-North Korea (AUDIT-NK), and Brief Psychological State Inventory for North Korean Refugees (BPSI-NKR) questionnaires. Of the original participants, 143 subjects participated in test-retest reliability study after one week. Results : Cronbach's alpha coefficient of CES-D-NK was superior in both males (0.91) and females (0.93). The test-retest correlation coefficient was high (males, 0.64 ; femals, 0.79). Good convergent validity was evident by significant correlations with IER-R-NK, BPSI-NKR-Depression and BPSI-NKR-PTSD, respectively. CES-D-NK had no or weak correlations with AUDIT-NK and BPSI-NKR-Alcohol, showing its discriminant validity. Conclusion : CES-D-NK could be a reliable and valid tool for screening and assessing depressive symptoms of North Korean defectors.