• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.14 no.1_spc
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• pp.519-544
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to propose what psychological education is needed for activation of interchange between the South Korea and the North Korea and ultimately for the completion of Korean unification. We learned this reason from the German unification case. The Germany was unified 17 years ago, but many researchers evaluate that it will take about 30 years more for German people to complete real and inner unification. So, we proposed our own unification education in a psychological aspect for faster and inner unification, which is based on the principle that we should go ahead according to our situation, not simply follow the way Germany went. Therefore, we should start psychological education for unification from now on, even though unification is not accomplished at the present and Germany didn't do that. Because we can predict the pre-unification (interchange) stage would be long unlike the Germany, psychological education for unification is needed during this interchange stage consistently. For the person-oriented unification education, we should educate adaptation-enhancement strategy for each person to keep psychological stability in the interchange and unification stage, beyond simply educating ideology focusing on the political and structural unification.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.555-562
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• 2015

This study investigated the way how psychological unification of south and north korea will be achieved and mental health of korea should be enhanced. Among various political opinions proposed for the unification of korea, Dae Jung Kim's federation of south and north korea with 3-stage unification process has been known as practical and feasible policy. This thesis reviewed differences and homogeneity of two koreas, psychological attributes and mental health of north korea people, psychological plans and researches for psychological unification, and mental health enhancement of south korea. The political, economical and social preparations being very needed urgently, the psychological preparation, curing wounded hearts for more than 60 years and psychological differences, are very important. The efforts for north and south korea's psychological unification and reorienting mental halth system of south korea met for global mental health standard and OECD recommendations were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.259-284
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• 2021

The present study was conducted to develop and validate a psychological scale that measures individuals' attitude toward unification of Korea (ATU-K). Building on major theoretical perspectives on the structure of attitude and the attitude-behavior link, we specified two sub-components each representing the cognitive and the affective dimension of people's attitude toward unification. In a survey that involved a stratified sample of Korean adults (N = 1,500), we found strong evidence showing the construct validity of the ATU-K scale. We also found evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale. In a second survey involving another stratified sample of 1,500 Korean adults, we found the utility of the ATU-K scale in predicting people's intention to engage in unification-oriented behaviors (personal/collective). We also found that the ATU-K scale fares better in predicting the intention vis-a-vis the other measures of unification-related beliefs reported in previous research. We discuss implications of our findings and directions for future research.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.91-114
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• 2007

This study was performed to decide how to do research and resolve on mental health problems of the people after reunification, which is recognized as ultimately important issue. At first we analyzed the case of Germany. To do so, we reviewed the existing research, which included various issues such as reunification for the Germans, chronological research flow analysis, the issues of mental health, research methods for mental health problems, therapy for mental health problems and so on. And then we sought the ways to connect research for the North Korean defectors and unification era, and suggested the several research orientation and methods for mental health study of the unification period.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.5-16
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• 2000

This study compared the meaning of words in the play songs of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea(DPRK). Sixteen children who had escaped from North Korea participated in this survey in Seoul by responding to a questionnaire. In the DPRK, children sing formal songs, used as instruments of ideological socialization. Among the songs were 4 composed prior to the creation of the DPRK in 1945. The other songs were composed after 1945 and exhibited ideological characteristics. Despite differences in sources, themes, and ideologies of play songs, some of them contained common themes, materials, rhythms, and typical Korean emotional structure. Considering the power of play songs in spreading cultural influence, they might be the key to resolving psychological conflicts of both Koreas after unification.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.79-101
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• 2004

This study is performed to understand and resolve psychologically the issue of North Korea-South Korea's cultural heterogeneity which is treated importantly in unification debates. We collected data from 181 North Korea Defectors through survey, and found out that the North Korea Defectors perceived cultural heterogeneity so much especially at the early settlement stage. However, this fact itself didn't give a serious suggestion, What is significant was how much South Korean cultural orientation they had as a coping strategy. When they coped with South Korean cultural orientation, they showed high level of self-efficacy, and furthermore they demonstrated high level of psychological adaptation. By the way, this psychological adaptation level was not significantly correlated with positive index such as life satisfaction, but correlated with negative index such as depression. That is, low self-efficacy group showed high level of depression and 43% of them could be classified as a depression-symptom group. Thus, we can conclude that it is rather helpful for the North Korean Defectors to have South Korean cultural orientation for overcoming North Korea-South Korea's cultural heterogeneity, and coping strategy is more important than cultural heterogeneity itself.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.77-95
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the value of children in South and North Korea and to identify the similarities and differences in value orientations related to children and curriculum in child-care and education. The secondary data including 2013 research report on the South Korean consciousness and values, the Familial Law Act and the Child Welfare Act of South Korea, the Familial Law Act and the Law of Nursing and Upbringing of Children in North Korea, and a series of Choson-yeosung magazines in North Korea were analyzed. Results showed that first, it was common that both of social and psychological values of children were found, but the psychological values were more prevalent in the South and the social values were more dominant in the North. Second, parents in both cultures publically agreed that parenting should promote the development of the whole child. However, parents in the South were inclined to support happiness and personal achievement of children, whilst parents in the North were likely to reinforce ideology education producing a pillar for socialism. Third, it was common that both parents of the South and the North were primarily responsible for child-rearing, but the role of government in child-rearing was more emphasized in the North. Lastly, supporting daily routine activities, communication skills, and art activities were included in child-care and education programs in both cultures. However, communication skills and social relationship were emphasized in programs of the South, whilst ideology education was the most important components in program of the North. The strategies for understanding differences in the value of children between the South and the North after unification were discussed.

• Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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• v.66
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• pp.147-178
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to clarify the contribution of Christian faith in the process of establishing self-identity and stably settling in the process of North Korean youth settling in Korean society. The research method used narrative. Participants in the study were nine late youth who belonged to the church, aged 17 to 24 years old, who had been in Korea for more than one year. Through this study, themes were derived from four categories. First, a retrospective narrative of the North Korean defection motive was dealt with. Second, it deals with the psychological adaptation process and unsolved tasks. Third, I dealt with the thoughts of the family, the discourse and vision for unification, which they dream of in Korean society as Christian believers. Fourth, it is about the Christian faith, and it is said that the Christian faith gives North Korean refugee youth the power to reflect on their lives, and to see the essence of life through the values of interest in others, history, society, and the kingdom of God. These results are based on the encounters with church and alternative school leaders and various curriculums that North Korean refugee youth experience and talk about. In the sense that it seeks and suggests a new direction in the era of preparation for unification, this article can be said to be of great value for Christian education.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.139-178
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• 2003

This study investigates Koreans respondents' perception of American society, American people and its influence in Korea and the world. These analyses have been conducted to provide the psychological, social and cultural basis for understanding the anti-American sentiments among Korean junior high school students, university students and adults. American influence is further divided into American influence on Korean society, on North-South Korean unification, and in the world. In addition, respondents' knowledge of the USA, their satisfaction with the current political functioning, and background information were obtained. A total of 763 respondents (171 junior high school students, 250 university students, and 342 parents of junior high school students) completed a survey questionnaire developed by the first two authors. The overall results indicate that the respondents had a negative view of the USA and its influence in Korea and the world. Majority of respondents perceive American society as being commercial, exclusionary, and ethnocentric. Some respondents perceive American society as being democratic and advanced. As for American people, they are perceive them as being selfish and at the same time independent and carefree. The trust for American society is very low. As for American influence in Korea, it is perceived it as creating dependency and less likely to be perceived as promoting progress and development. As for North-South Korean relations, respondents perceive the USA as interfering with the unification of two Koreas. Finally, respondents perceive the USA as a superpower with imperialistic and dominating tendencies and they were less like to perceive the USA as promoting democracy and justice. Significant differences across the age groups have been found with the junior high school students holding the most negative view about the USA and their parents holding the most positive view of the USA. University students had mixed views of the USA. holding both positive and negative views of the USA. Those respondents with greater dissatisfaction of the political system and with less knowledge about the USA has more negative views of the USA.

• 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.