• Human Ecology Research
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.157-168
• /
• 2015

This study examined positive and negative marital factors on social adaptation to South Korea among North Korean refugees. In terms of previous studies, family variables play an important role in the adaptation to new society among refugees. We analyzed three major marital factors of marriage background, dyadic adjustment, and marital violence. Marital factors consisted of place of birth, place of marriage, dyadic consensus, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion, emotional violence, physical violence, and sexual violence. We analyzed the data of 295 North Korean refugees who resided in Seoul, Gyeonggi province and Incheon using snowballing sampling. The result indicated that the refugees married to non-Korean partners (including Korean-Chinese, Chinese, or Russian) are more likely to suffer in social adaptation. Place of marriage (whether the couple got married before escaping, during the escape or after living in South Korea) did not have a significant impact. Dyadic satisfaction was helpful in social adaptation, while sexual violence had a negative effect. The findings of this study suggest alternatives for more successful social adaptation by North Korean refugees to South Korea, a need for more services that target married couples and families rather than individuals, and suggestions for the use of counselors who are also North Korean refugees.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.3-12
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the Characteristic and Changing Process of Refugees' Housing in the Korean War. Refugees' Housing is one of the unique forms of housing that emerged during the acute situation in the war. During the Korean War, Busan became the Wartime Capital and various housing policies were implemented for the influx of refugees. Various types of housing appeared in Busan during the war, and the type analysis and characteristic of these types were revealed through literature and case studies. Accordingly, the product of study was indicated in the meaning of the housing restoration policy enforced during the war and the housing type exhibited by refugees from the perspective of housing.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.845-857
• /
• 2020

As the number of North Korean refugees increases in South Korean, their acculturation to life in their host country is coming to be an important social issue. This study explores some clothing-related barriers experienced by North Korean refugees and their moderating effects on acculturation to South Korea. Data were collected using a self-administered survey of 163 female and 37 male North Korean refugees in South Korea aged 20 to 69 years. Descriptive analyses, t-tests, ANOVA, Duncan tests, and moderated multiple regression were conducted using SPSS 20.0 and Process Macro v.3.3. The results show that the North Korean refugees who participated in the study had experienced clothing-related barriers regarding fashion terminology and shopping rituals in South Korea. In particular, those in their 60s perceived more clothing-related barriers than those in their 20s and 30s. Next, the clothing-related barriers experienced by North Korean refugees have a negative moderating influence on the relationship between self-esteem and acculturation in South Korea. This study provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between fashion and the acculturation of North Korean refugees to South Korea. The results of the study can be also helpful of government policy makers, practitioners, and academics to develop education programs for North Korean refugees.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2011

The number of North Korean refugees residing in the Republic of Korea (South) has reached 17,000, and this number is expected to exceed 20,000 (North Korean Supporter's Association, 2009). Refugees have developed improper dietary habits while hiding and escaping North Korea. They have also developed preferences for exotic food. This thesis attempts determine the changes in Korean food. This study also describes the view on South Korean food by North Korean refugees. According to our survey, women refugees had better dietary habits than men. Moreover, women and those in their 40's showed a tendency to choose food based on quality over quantity. Both men and women refugees responded that they cook food based on North Korean recipes. Those who view their current financial status as average or higher stated that South Korean food is tastier than North Korean food. Those whose financial status among North Koreans was average or higher when they lived in North Korea appreciated the splendor and beauty of South Korean food more. The results of this study are expected to assist in determining the differences in dietary habits between those from the North compared to Koreans living in the Republic of Korea. Therefore, studies between South and North Korean food should continue.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.285-312
• /
• 2016

The study examines how stressful life experiences and negative affective conditions influence refugees' information seeking and uses. Fifty-five North Korean refugees living in South Korea were invited to participate in a survey to determine their level of PTSD and to investigate the relationship between activeness in information-seeking and their negative affect. Seven subjects with severe PTSD symptoms participated in an in-depth interview to describe their information practices in daily life contexts. The study found that participants with higher levels of PTSD tended to seek information more passively than those with lower levels of PTSD. Almost all refugees were unable to recognize their information needs clearly but some subjects stated latent socio-affective needs and financial needs. Most refugees avoided seeking information and learned information through interpersonal sources-staffs in the Hana Refugee Center and volunteers in local community churches-and mass media. Some unique social phenomena were discovered in North Korean refugees' information world and the emergent features were discussed. On the basis of the findings, some practical approaches for improving refugees' information world were also suggested.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.125-147
• /
• 2020

On the World Refugee Day in 2017, Yao Chen, a Chinese actress, philanthropist, and social media influencer, posted messages in her Weibo in support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Yet, social media users quickly interpreted this supportive message of the refugee program as encouraging people to "accept and receive refugees" (jieshou nanmin) into China. Particularly, the category of Middle Eastern refugees elicited most criticism in China's cyberspace. As the inclusion of refugees is an integral part of immigrant multiculturalism, this article examines the limits of multicultural imagination of refugees―particularly those from the Middle Eastern and North Africa―in contemporary China. I argue that the limits of multicultural imagination in contemporary China is profoundly shaped by an intricate interweaving of domestic policies and global imaginaries toward refugees. By deploying a mixed methodology, such limits are examined from legal-institutional, ideological, and sociocultural perspectives. More specifically, three interrelated aspects will be highlighted in the article: (1) the global circulation of right-wing populism imaginaries, and their entanglements with the anti-Muslim sentiments in contemporary China; (2) the current insufficiency of the legal-institutional framework regarding refugees and asylum-seekers, which needs to be contextualized in China's modern history of dealing with refugee issues; (3) population politics, the rise of Han-centric nationalism, and their constraining impact on the interpretation of historical events related to cultural diversity. In conclusion, this article also offers potential implications for further examining the different yet potentially intersected genealogies of multicultural imaginaries beyond the Middle Eastern and North African refugees in Asia.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.35-41
• /
• 2012

Purpose: According to the statistics announced by the Ministry of Unification, the number of North Korean refugees living in South Korea has increased by 200 on average monthly in 2010. The number of refugees increased only by 300 annually until 2000. The total number of refugees as of February 2012 was 20,956. This study aims to investigate the psychobiology of the North Korean refugees who consulted psychiatric clinics among those living daily life in South Korea. Methods: The subjects of this study were 85 North Korean refugees that consulted psychiatric clinics from January 1, 2005 to July 2011. This study obtained demographic and psychiatric information in a retrospective approach. Results: Among the 85 North Korean refugees, 75 (88.2%) were females and their average age was 48 years of age. A total of 16 (18.8%) were admitted to a clinic and among the inpatients, 4 were admitted twice and two were admitted three times. As for the claimed symptoms of outpatients, insomnia was shown in 47 (55.3%) patients, headaches in 37 (43.5%), anxiety in 20 (23.5%), depression in 19 (22.4%), etc. The major symptoms represented by inpatients were insomnia in 14 (87.5%) patients, depression in 12 (75%), and headaches in 8 (50%), etc. Conclusion: The most frequent psychiatric symptoms of North Korean refugees living in South Korea were insomnia and headaches. It suggests that when performing psychiatric diagnosis and treatment of North Korean refugees, we have to take into consideration the fact that they claimed the physical symptoms more than the emotional ones. Also, from the aspect that most symptoms of North Korean refugees were insomnia, more profound research on sleep is required in the future.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.386-392
• /
• 2017

Objectives: Refugees resettled in the US may be at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about CVD-related issues among Karen refugees who have migrated to the US from the Thai-Myanmar border. The purpose of this study was to examine CVD-related health beliefs and lifestyle issues among Karen refugees resettled in the US. Methods: Karen refugees resettled in the US from the Thai-Myanmar border (n=195) participated in a survey study on health beliefs related to CVD, salt intake, physical activity (PA), and smoking in the fall of 2016. Results: A high-salt diet, physical inactivity, and smoking were major lifestyle problems. Participants who adhered to a low-salt diet considered themselves to be susceptible to CVD. Most participants did not engage in regular PA. Regular PA was associated with less perceived susceptibility to CVD and greater perceived benefits of a healthy lifestyle for decreasing the likelihood of CVD. Conclusions: Each refugee population may require individualized strategies to promote PA and a healthy diet. Future studies should develop health education programs that are specifically designed for Karen refugees and evaluate such programs. In addition to health education programs on healthy lifestyle choices, tobacco cessation programs seem to be necessary for Karen refugees. At the same time, it is important to foster strategies to increase the utilization of preventive care among this population by promoting free or reduced-fee resources in the community to further promote their health.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2021

Since the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the number of refugees has been on the rise in Korea as well as worldwide. In addition to recognition of legal status for refugees, employment and education support, and qualification recognition are emerging as social issues. In this context, this study aims to compare the cases of Netherlands and Norway in terms of evaluation and recognition of refugees' qualifications. The findings of the study show that although there were concerns about the lack of official documents to verify the qualifications of refugees, the two countries have developed a special process for the evaluation and recognition for refugees respectively according to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. In addition, both countries have developed a recognition of prior learning system which has made the qualification recognition process flexible from a point of refugees. These experiences could be used as benchmarks for the Korean government which has a responsibility to develop its own qualification recognition system for refugees in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.14 no.1_spc
• /
• pp.487-518
• /
• 2008

The study identifies the major themes for integration education program which enhances the relationship between the north Korean refugees and their south Korean hosts. The themes were selected based on qualitative analysis of the socio-cultural conflicts experienced by the refugees and the hosts in the acculturation process. Twenty-eight north Korean refugees over age 20 participated in semi-structured interviews, and two south Korean groups in close contact with the refugees, police and volunteer teachers, were interviewed in focus groups. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for categorization and coding. The study views the acculturation issue as the two-sided integration task for both the north Korean refugees and the south Korean hosts rather than as the one-sided acceptance and assimilation task for the refugees.