• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.125-143
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• 2017

This program aimed at preparing the pre-service teachers to teach about North Korean family life culture to secondary school students, by promoting the understanding and acceptance of cultural differences between the two Koreas. Based on the literature review, the educational contents were developed to reflect general aspects of North Korean family life. The program was implemented with 35 undergraduate students in a home economics teacher education program. The program consists of 15 units of 150-minute instructional sessions. The first three introductory sessions dealt with the definitions of family life culture and multiculturalism, as well as a historical review of South-North relationship. The following nine sessions were devoted to North Korean family life culture in five different domains: consumption and leisure, family and child-caring, food and dietary life, housing and neighborhood life, and clothing/fashion. During the final two weeks, pre-service teachers conducted mock-teaching. For evaluation, pre- and post-session scores on general teaching efficacy and understanding of cultural differences were compared using paired t-tests. The pre-/post-test results confirmed that the program was successful in promoting the understanding and acceptance of cultural differences between two Koreas of pre-service teachers.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.123-142
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• 1994

This paper is a part of "A Case Study on The Dwellings and Settlement of Korean Immigrants to North-Eastern Province of China". Among various subjects from the study, this paper covers with the spaces and life style in the dwellings of Korean Immigrants. The purpose of this paper is to discribe how their dwelling culture has been moved and changed to a new environment. One rural village of Korean Immigrants named "Ch'ang-ts'ai" in Yen-pien Province was selected where we investigated more than 110 households. From the formal interview, I collect the data on the family structure, family economic state, dwelling spaces and its use, and dwelling facillities and furniture. From informal interview with key informants, I analyze how they have changed their dwelling spaces and life style since they moved here. Based on the analysis of the data, I conclude that major features of their dwelling and life style has been moved from Korean penninsula, specially from 'Hamkyong' Province where their ancestor has lived. This features are summarized as follows: a. Dwelling spaces and its functions are simillar to typical dwelling type of Hamkyong Province. b. They use "Chong-ji" for both a cooking space and a major living space. c. They have a life style of sitting on the floor. d. Bedrooms are differentiated with male and female. e. Most of their dwelling facillities and furniture arc different from those of Chinese in the same province. Since they immigrated, there has been some social changes which could influence on making their dwelling culture. But they have preserved their cultural identity on their dwellings and life style. So I suggest that the dwelling culture of a society would be seldom changed by immigration, as long as they will be given similar conditions such as the independent ethnic community, the same ecosystem, and economical autonomy.

• 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.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.129-145
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• 2016

This study focuses on the differences in family values, which is a cause of family dissolution and conflicts of marriage immigrant women. This study was conducted on 441 women in Vietnam. It was done to explore their family values. Specifically, the following were examined: the overall family values and martial status of Vietnamese women; differences in their family values by region (northern, central, southern). The survey questionnaire consists of the following content: 'family perception'; 'gender-role values'; 'elderly parent support value'. The characteristics of family values of Vietnamese women are as follows. First, the scope of family perceived by them was relatively narrow. In particular, most of them didn't perceive the parents of a spouse as a familymember. Second, in terms of gender-roles, they perceived men and women as equal and didn't have strong perception of traditional gender roles. Third, they felt strongly about supporting elderly parents. The perception of supporting elderly parents is based on equal gender roles, instead of the paternalistic approach. They preferred financial support to living with parents. There were also differences in family values by region. Also, their values seemed to be the opposite of the ones well-known by region. In addition, their values were changing amid economic growth and modernization. Residents in Can Tho in the south - known to have open-minded Southeast Asian values - had the most patrilineal, traditional values with strong perception towards supporting elderly parents. Residents in Hanoi in the north - known to have heavy influence of Confucian culture - had non-traditional values with positive attitude towards liberal sex culture, divorce, and remarriage. Residents in Da Nang, a central region, had a mixture of northern and southern characteristics in terms of family values.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.41-66
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• 2005

The goal of this study was to investigate factors influencing North Korea defectors's psychological alienation by comparing South Koreans and North Korean defectors in the sense of values, lifestyles, attribution styles and stereotypes. To pursue this goal, a questionnaire was distributed to 143 South Koreans and 99 North Korean defectors, According to results, in comparison with South Koreans, North Korean defectors placed more values on 'nation' than 'individual or family', on the 'support of parents' than 'a great success', In the lifestyles, the North Korean defectors than South Koreans put higher significance in 'traditional familism', 'traditional collectivism', 'social consciousness', and 'traditional hierarchy'. As for stereotypes, South Korean people considered the North Korean defectors defiant, critical, egoistic, and competitive people. Also, South Koreans perceived North Korean defectors as more negatively than North Korean defectors did themselves. In case of alienation, North Korean defectors reported that their workplace was the most common place where they were alienated. As a result of investigating factors investigating the North Korean defectors' alienation, it showed that 'affluent life' in their values, 'cultural openness' in the lifestyles, and 'inside attribution' in the attribution styles were critical. Finally, it discussed limitations of the present study and the research required in the future.

• Journal of Ethics
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• no.80
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• pp.51-77
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• 2011

This study aims to explore how to establish any foundation of the value of the unification of the Korean Peninsula in multicultural society of Korea. Its main issue is related to Korean identity of a nation and its shared value among the mulitcultural members, in particular, of North Koreans including defectors, foreign workers, and immigrants of international marriage and their children. For this study, I would utilize a given research of the application of two concepts of culture to multicultural levels by criticizing its limit; as an alternative, furthermore, I would pay attention to the possibility of the concept of emotion in multicultural members. A short feature in a given study of two conceptions of culture in a multicultural society is as follows: the first is to regard it as the patterns of meanings and symbols, which is very useful to understand others or other culture; secondly, to see it as the lasting process of perfection in human life, which makes us recognize ourselves as a member, so to speak, identity. In application it to Korean muliticultural members, however, there are crucial and complicated problems according to the cases of their lives. For North Koreans, firstly, they tend to get the conception of Korean identity in terms of ideological policies and education of North Korean government. This means that they have a strong hatred towards the word multiculture, in the level of recognizing the self-culture. Secondly, North Korean defectors also have the recognition of the self-culture, but their serious problem is discriminative treatments by South Korean in terms of socio-economics, in the process of their settlement. Thirdly, parents and their children in multicultural family can have their identity as Korean. In parents, however, the level is double that they can have both identities of Korean as well as of their countries. The foundation, therefore, of the value of the unification in the Korean Peninsula is closely related to the issue of identity as Korean. To recognize it, it is possible only to consider and reflect all members' lives by applying the dual conceptions of culture to their multicultural lives. That is not of outer system, but of inner, relational and cultural emotion, which enables them to share their common value of unification.

• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.135-156
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• 2010

While there are a few ways of giving meanings to the term, "Altai" ranging from a language family to a national residing around the Altai Mountains in Russian Federation, and to the people speaking the language or the whole area where they live, there have been controversial debates whether it is a meaningful categorization. This paper argues that the basic cause lying beneath the controversies is the underdevelopment of the subject that identifies itself as a representative of the whole area where the Altaic language family is spoken. It might be true, as some Korean and Russian scholars insist, that what deserves to be called Altaic culture (or civilization) has provided a common culture and mutual interactions with the people. However, the Altaic people failed to constitute themselves as a meaningful modern group, that is a nation, and they did not fully develop national consciousness, As a result, although their way of life may be regarded as an origin of various cultures across North-East Asia, Altaic culture is not sufficient to give a momentum to claim for cultural initiative in the region. This comes at least partly from the reconfiguration of ethnic identity through a Soviet type of modernization and its geopolitical situation surrounded by super-powers such as China and Russia, as well as belated import of religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. From a wide perspective, the trouble about delimiting an area is not unique in Altai, but universally found in anywhere, as far as area studies are concerned. The delimitation of an area is not a natural outcome of physical environment but an artificial production of how cultural-political relationships have been distributed. Therefore, while the case of Alai has its own specificities, its implications that a national or regional boundary in area studies should not be taken for granted may be applied to other areas.