• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.189-224
• /
• 2010

Nowadays Korean society has a fast growing population of North Korean immigrant youth. Especially, North Korean immigrant youth, who are discontinuing formal education, experience difficulties in social exclusion and adaptation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of adaptation and social support of North Korean immigrant youth discontinuing formal education, and to seek affirmative supporting plans and solutions for their adaptation. The methodology utilized for this study was a case study research. On the basis of the results and categorization, 'a network between overall categories and of early adaptation' was derived. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows. First, the participants of this study experienced major difficulties during 'economical adaptation', and their economical adaptation was strongly interrelated with their 'educational adaptation'. The discontinuing of their education resulting from their fleeing period caused 'academic differential and age disparity.' Thus they could not enroll in the formal education system, and their insufficient educational background resulted in low wages and overwork due to manual labor jobs. Second, participants recognized 'interpersonal relations' as the most essential factor in adaptation, and 'social support' from the interpersonal relations played an important role in adaptation to and comfort in Korean society. 'Interactions with South Koreans' was recognized as a significant resource for gaining informational and appraisal support, but was not activated satisfactorily. On the other hand, interaction with North Korean immigrants was avoided by the reason that 'there's nothing to learn', however emotional support from North Korean immigrants of close relationship played an important role in participants' adaptation, especially in all aspects of psychological adaptation. Third, participants experienced a lot of difficulties and stresses in their 'physical health and psychological adaptation'. Their chronic diseases worsened by remaining untreated, and female perceived symptoms were observed more often than in male. Meanwhile, excessive 'stresses' from the unfamiliar environment of South Korea negatively affected their psychological adaptation. However, they were satisfied with sense of liberty and security from living in a democratic society.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.71-86
• /
• 2003

Over the past few decades, changes in patterns of behavior (e.g., diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity) have led to major changes in health status, characterized by increases in obesity, Type II diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. This epidemiologic transition is largely the result of rapid increases in immigration to developed countries and rural-urban migration within developing countries, which is usually accompanied by environmental and lifestyle changes. In particular, adoption of “Western” dietary patterns, which tend to be high in fat and low in fruits and vegetables, is of concern since diet is a potent contributor to chronic disease risk. However, until recently, the process by which immigrants and rural-urban migrants adopt the dietary practices predominant in their new environments, known as dietary acculturation, has received very little research attention. Dietary acculturation is multidimensional, dynamic, and complex, and varies considerably depending on a variety of personal, cultural, and environmental characteristics. Therefore, to intervene successfully on the negative aspects of dietary acculturation, it is important to understand the process and identify factors that predispose and enable it to occur. The purpose of this article is to provide a practical model for understanding and investigating the effect of dietary acculturation on food and nutrient intake. Thus, this report 1) gives an overview of acculturation, 2) defines dietary acculturation and presents a model for how it occurs, 3) discusses measurement issues around dietary acculturation,4) reviews the literature on dietary acculturation in Korean Americans; 4) suggests a paradigm for acculturation research; and 5) offers some recommendations for future research in this area.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.135-160
• /
• 2009

The study aims at understanding current states and problems for multi-cultural families in libraries. The study examined multicultural services in Korean libraries as well as overseas. The study analyzed library services and education problems of multicultural families based on multicultural model, assimilationist model, and differential exclusionary model. The study surveyed multi-cultural services librarians and educators as well as immigrants and children who have participated in multicultural problems, and finally analyzed problems and requirements of programs for multicultural families.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.82 no.4
• /
• pp.306-310
• /
• 2019

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is increasing in immigrants. We aimed to investigate the current status of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment for North Korean Refugees (NKR) compared to South Koreans Contacts (SKC). Methods: TB close contacts in a closed facility of SKC and NKR who underwent LTBI screening in a settlement support center for NKR were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among tuberculin skin test (TST) ${\geq}10mm$ (n=298) reactors, the males accounted for 72.2% in SKC (n=126) and 19.5% in NKR (n=172) (p<0.01). The mean age was higher in South Korea ($42.8{\pm}9.9years$ vs. $35.4{\pm}10.0years$, p<0.01). Additionally, the mean TST size was significantly bigger in NKR ($17.39{\pm}3.9mm$ vs. $16.57{\pm}4.2mm$, p=0.03). The LTBI treatments were initiated for all screened NKR, and LTBI completion rate was only 68.0%. However, in NKR, LTBI treatment completion rate was significantly increased by shorter 4R regimen (odds ratio [OR], 9.296; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.159-20.774; p<0.01) and male (OR, 3.447; 95% CI, 1.191-9.974; p=0.02). Conclusion: LTBI treatment compliance must be improved in NKR with a shorter regimen. In addition, a larger study regarding a focus on LTBI with easy access to related data for NKR should be conducted.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.200-210
• /
• 1988

ABSTRACT Brown planthopper collection data by 151 light traps located throughout the southern part of Korean peninsula for 7 years from 1981 thru 1987 were analysed with each immigration wave in relation to daily weather charts when the immigration occurred, and summarized as below. 1) Most of the main immigration took place during the mid and late July, though there were some variations from year to year. 2) Number of the BPH collected at one time, and the number of the area where those immigrants where collected were increased when it occurred closer to the end of July. 3) Weather conditions when the immigration took place were divided into 4 types; (a) depression with stationary front passed over the central peninsula (A type, 12 times); (b) depression with stationary front passed over the southern sea (B type, 5 times); (c) stationary front passed over the central peninsula(C type, 7 times); (d) without depression and stationary front (D type, 2 times). 4) Whatever the types of the weather, those immigrations started to land from south-west part of the peninsula, and those numbers of immigrants were also grater at those south-western areas. 5) When common weather factors were counted from each weather chart of the days when thcse immigrations took place, presence of wind from south-west was 26 times, presence of stationary front was 24 times, and presence of depression was 17 times out of all 26 cases of immigration. 6) Therefore, it could be concluded that the immigration of the BPH into Korea is simply accompanied by the north$.$easterly flowing air currents, connected from south-east part of China through Korean peninsula. And other factors seem to be related with inducing their landing.anding.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.31 no.4 s.63
• /
• pp.828-843
• /
• 1998

To find the association of perception of health status with lifestyle of different ethnic groups living in north-eastern part of China, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was done by 10 local health workers for 375 Korean immigrants and 217 Chinese whose age was 30 years old or more. Because Korean immigrants showed higher mortality than Chinese, we expected to find significant lifestyle related with perception of health status which was known to be a predictor of mortality by different ethnic groups. The results were as follows : 1. We found that 59.7% of Yanbian Koreans and 42.9% of Yanbian Chinese felt unhealthy (p=0.000). 2. For Yanbian Koreans, significant variables associated with perception of health status were selected through logistic regression analysis and they were sex; female to male with an OR=2.45 (95% confidence interval[CI] 1.06, 5.64), prevalence of chronic illness with an OR=5.48 (95% CI: 4.62, 15.56), mont of meal; small or moderate to full with an OR=2.67 (95% CI : 1.40, 5.09), preference of spicy food with an OR=1.78 (95% CI : 1.04, 3.04), and less amount intake of vitamin $B_2$, with an OR=2.29 (95% CI : 1.33, 3.93). 3. For Yanbian Chinese, significant variables associated with perception of health status were prevalence of chronic illness with an OR=4.97 (95% CI : 2.11, 11.68), history of taking ginseng with an OR=3.72 (95% CI : 1.33, 10.43), and less intake of vitamin C with an OR=0.18 (95% CI : 0.07, 0.46). In conclusion, sex, presence of chronic illness, dietary habit, and amount of $vitamin-B_1$ intake were associated with perception of health status in Yanbian Koreans. Presence of chronic illness, experience of ginseng intake, and amount of vitamin C intake were associated with perception of health status in Yanbian Chinese. To prove cause-effect relation between perception of health status and lifestyle, further study is needed for these different ethnic groups.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.45-70
• /
• 2011

Today's S. Korean society has become more multicultural, so many libraries in S. Korea have been working hard to serve their "new customers". In this regard, this study intends to investigate library cooperative systems for acquisition of multicutural materials in Western countries to relieve difficulties of libraries in S. Korea in acquiring multicutural materials. the study analyzed 23 national libraries, state libraries, public libraries and library systems in North America, Australia and Northern European Countries. The research found categorization schemes. First, library cooperative systems are divided into two groups according to cooperative methods: cooperative acquisition and bulk loan method. Second, the systems are categorized according to the territorial scope of the service: country, state or province, borough or city and inter-library. The study also analyzed and synthesized the characteristics of these systems. It finally provides recommendations to apply the methods used by the library cooperative systems in Western countries to Korean's situation.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.147-163
• /
• 2016

Multicultural Family Support Centers (MFSC) have provided five program areas including family, gender equality, human rights, social integration, and counseling since 2015. It is important to examine the MFSC staff's perceptions of the family programs and program needs for multicultural families to improve the effectiveness of these programs. In this study, we aim to explore the staff's perceptions of the family programs and to assess multicultural family program needs based on the family life cycle. A total of 130 MFSC staff were recruited through 128 MFSCs across Korea. Descriptive statistics were conducted for data analysis. Our findings revealed that MFSC staff have increasingly recognized that their target audiences are not only marriage immigrants and their families but also foreign workers' families and families from North Korea. In addition, the MFSC staff identified the importance of family programs instead of only programs for individual family members and multicultural families' different program needs based on their family life cycle. Contrary to the positive perception of the family programs, they described challenges of the family programs including a shortage of funds, difficulty recruiting family member combinations (e.g., couples, parent-child) for family programs, a lack of a program manual, and a heavy workload. This study provides insights into the family programs including their development and delivery.

• Korean Security Journal
• /
• no.49
• /
• pp.157-183
• /
• 2016

Countries across the globe, including those in Europe, are waging a "war against terrorism" as international terrorist groups such as ISIS and lone-wolf terrorists have unleashed various large-scale attacks on rail infrastructure. Anti-South Korean sentiment exists in Muslim-majority countries because the nation has cooperated with the US for its military interventions in the Middle East, and ISIS has threatened to target South Korea four times since September 9, 2015. In addition, North Korea has been left isolated in the international community with its missile and nuclear tests, while further escalating inter-Korean tension and threatening to strike major facilities and attack important figures in the South. These situations imply that South Korea is no longer immune to terrorist attacks. If the nation fails to prevent or deter such terrorist attacks against rail networks, massive casualties, property damage and social confusion would be unavoidable, deteriorating national and international trust in its counter-terrorism policies. This may lead to a national crisis involving decreases in the number of tourists, dampened interest of foreign investors, and capital flight. This study aims to propose policy measures to enhance railroad security checks, based on the work of railroad police officers, for the sake of protecting citizens and public safety. The suggestions include an incremental expansion of railroad security checks; growth of the railroad police force and adjustment of their policing distribution with other police officers; enhancement of security systems across important rail networks; improvement of the Railroad Safety Act; Southeast Asia, including the corresponding strengthening of the national crackdown illegal immigrants, and plans for pre-emptive and regular cooperation among organizations related to the promotion of security checks and the prevention of terrorist attacks.

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