• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.585-594
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• 2021

As for international migration, family reunification is a key factor for the well-being and social integration of migrants. The UN ensures the right to family unity for the beneficiaries of complementary forms of protection. That includes those who are not recognized as refugees, but are nevertheless at risk of serious harm upon return to their country of origin, and thus are in need of international protection to the same degree as refugees. Although the Korean government provides humanitarian stay permits as complementary forms of protection, it does not guarantee family reunification as it does for refugees. This study aimed to examine the family reunification systems in Sweden, Ireland, Australia and Canada and to propose policy implications for family reunification of humanitarian status holders in Korea. The results showed that these countries commonly ensures the rights to family reunification although permission periods and scope vary by country. This study concludes that the Korean government should develop a legal system to ensure family reunification for humanitarian status holders since it is guaranteed as a basic human right by international covenants and promotes positive integration to countries of stay.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2011

Many immigrant youth and their families undergo painful separations and complicated reunification experiences. Using data from the Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation (LISA) study, a 5-year longitudinal, mixed-methods study of newcomer youth to the U.S., we examine the impact of lengthy family separations on youth's mental health and their perceived family conflict. Quantitative analyses demonstrate that longer separations positively predict higher psychological symptoms and family conflict, particularly for girls over a sustained period of time. Qualitative analyses of parent and child responses provide insights into the family reunification experiences.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.273-297
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• 2012

Using grounded theory method, this study analyzed the in-depth interviews with 11 parents of institutionalized children in order to find out how the experience of the parents on the process of the children's family reunification. According to the results, it was 'leaving one's child' that composed causal conditions, and also it was 'sentenced life' and 'adapting to a life without child' that composed existing conditions. Thus, the contextual condition was found out as 'a belief of family' and 'a belief of child caring' and the mediation conditions were 'power to recover' and 'not being as one's intentions'. Also, reaction/interaction strategies turned out as 'preparing a basis of child-care', 'playing a parent', 'standing against being adapted' and 'adjusting as their children back to family'. Finally, the analysis showed 'burdens on caring', 'wanting to leave one' child again', 'having stronger family membership' and 'being hopeful in a future' as results. The specific levels of the process were found out as following 4 steps, as time goes by. 1)Fostering children at institutions: become harsh parents(or a harsh parent), 2)After fostering: rebuild collapsed family in order to take the children back, 3)Family reunification: become aboveboard to oneself, family and the world, 4)After family reunification: try to keep the family taking precautions against resending. While taking their children back, the parents turned out to experience long, unremitting tension. Reflecting results of the analysis above, and in order to promote sending institutionalized children back to their families this article suggests practical alternatives for parents who left their children in institutions.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.105-124
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• 2017

This study aimed at developing an educational program for South Korean adolescents on North Korean family living culture so that the students become familiar with the values and everyday lifestyles of North Korea. Understanding of North Korean culture is considered important as a foundation for social integration in prospect of future reunification. The contents of the program were developed based on the analysis of North Korean defectors' interviews and review of the literature and media reports on North Korean family culture. The program consists of 12 units of 40-minute sessions with the following topics: economy and consumption, leisure activities, family relationships, dating and spouse choices, fashion changes, clothing acquisition and care, food choices and local diets, dietary problems, housing, and neighborhood. The program was implemented between December 21 and 30, 2015 in a middle school located in Seoul. This program is expected to be useful in preparing the students as future leaders to create harmonious family living culture in the reunified Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.118-126
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• 2013

We investigated the major trends in health aid financing in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by identifying the primary donor organizations and examining several data sources to track overall health aid trends. We collected gross disbursements from bilateral donor countries and international organizations toward the DPRK according to specific health sectors by using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development creditor reporting system database and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs financial tracking service database. We analyzed sources of health aid to the DPRK from the Republic of Korea (ROK) using the official records from the ROK's Ministry of Unification. We identified the ROK, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) as the major donor entities not only according to their level of health aid expenditures but also their growing roles within the health sector of the DPRK. We found that health aid from the ROK is comprised of funding from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, private organizations, local governments, and South Korean branches of international organizations such as WHO and UNICEF. We also distinguished medical equipment aid from developmental aid to show that the majority of health aid from the ROK was developmental aid. This study highlights the valuable role of the ROK in the flow of health aid to the DPRK, especially in light of the DPRK's precarious international status. Although global health aid from many international organizations has decreased, organizations such as GFATM and UNFPA continue to maintain their focus on reproductive health and infectious diseases.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 2011

The aim of this study was to achieve an understanding of the experiences of divided families in South Korea. The study adopted a qualitative method based on the interpretive science paradigm The participants were 14 elderly people who came from North Korea around 1950 and identified as belonging to the first generation of divided families. In-depth individual interviews were carried out, focusing on what divided families experienced after leaving their hometown, how these experiences affected their meaning-making about their homecoming, and how the divided community has changed. The result of theme analysis indicated that the first generation of divided families identified themselves as "people who lost their hometown." their hometown implied multiple losses, including their family members, socioeconomic status, and psychological support systems. The participants explained the process of their settlement and adaptation to South Korea based on the cohesion of the divided family community. However, they anticipated that the divided family community would fade away because of the aging of the first generation, the indifference of the second generation, and the frustration that existed about the reunion of the divided family members. The participants showed a realistic view on returning to their hometown after the reunification of North Korea and South Korea.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.61-78
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in terminologies used in child and family domains of family life education in South and North Korea. The terminologies relevant to child and family domains in North Korea were selected from various sources including dictionaries that are developed to compare South-North Korean languages, reports and websites by ministry of unification in South Korea, magazines and news articles about North Korean daily life. The collected terminologies were analyzed using the content criteria on core concepts, 'development' and 'relations' from the 2015 proclamation of the ministry of education on home economics curriculum. The major differences between the two Koreas were as follows: first, the terms categorized under human development were more divergent compared to the terms categorized under family relations. Specifically, there were big differences in terminologies in the love and marriage section, the life and labor in pregnancy section in human development and the child caring section in family relations. Second, dissimilar terms were more frequently appeared in content area of kinship, marriage, and child-rearing. Third, the discrepancies of terms between the two Koreas were brought about primarily by differences in political and social system, language refinement, and transcription techniques. These findings including the terminology list would be a practical resources providing for students to familiarize with the differences in the usage of terms and for teachers to develop a home economics educational program in provision of reunification of the Koreas.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.55-78
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• 2000

The purpose of this project was to provide social adjustment programs for North Korean residents who might migrate into South Korea when free transmigration is allowed in the process of reunification. This study was composed of three parts. First, present social adjustment programs for defectors from North Korea were reviewed. Second, South Koreans attitude toward social adjustment programs for migrated North Koreans in the future was identified based on empirical survey research. Third, the social adjustment programs for migrated North Koreans were discussed from results of the depth interviews which were carried out with 10 North Korean defectors. To support migrated North Koreans' social adjustment in South Korea, this study proposed the first stage village which would have characteristic of group home. Education programs to support social adjustment of migrated North Koreans were developed according to their social adjustment stages. In the middle stage of adjustment model, education programs on living culture in South Korea could be adopted. Education programs related to the various aspects of living culture including consumption, clothing, food, housing, family, child rearing, adolescent education were specified and discussed in detail.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Child Welfare
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• no.58
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• pp.231-262
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• 2017

South Korea has long been a culturally homogenous society, yet the increasing number of immigrants has turned the country into a multicultural society. Therefore, many empirical studies have investigated the way immigrants adapt to the Korean society and its associated factors. However, examining the overall process of migration (from family separation to reunification and cultural adaptation to the host society) that immigrant youth usually experience has been understudied. Previous empirical research and theoretical work have identified prominent factors that predict immigrant youth's mental health: experiences of family separation, living with others rather than primary caretakers during the separation, the length of residency in the host society, and family and peer support. In this respect, this exploratory and preliminary study that examined whether the experience of migration process and post-migration are related to Korean immigrant youth's mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation). The result indicated that longer duration of family separation; living with relatives, siblings; and friends rather than primary caretakers during the separation; receiving less support from family and peer after migration; and a lower degree of cultural adaptation to Korean culture were associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Drawing upon the results, this study discussed implications for policy and practice.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.58 no.9
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• pp.536-545
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• 2020

In preparing for the era of Korean reunification, it is essential to consider the integration of medical systems and human resources. While Korean dental practitioners are expanding their activities in various fields both domestically and internationally, there are many restrictions on the activities for improving the health of North Korean people due to political and historical reasons even nowadays. In addition, there is little is known about the current state of dental health in North Korea. We analyzed the reports published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health of North Korea prepared individually or in cooperation, and investigated the current status of the health care strategy applied to the dental field by conducting a full investigation of the 2018 『Rodong』newspaper. Based on the above, we tried to grasp the major health care strategies in North Korea and their application. Understanding the direction and status of North Korea's health care system would be an important cornerstone for international cooperation and practical activities to improve oral health care of North Koreans in the future. And there is a need that studies should be steadily conducted in various methods to overcome the heterogeneity of the two Koreas in the long-term perspective.