• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.55
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• pp.103-130
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• 2003

This study examined resettlement and adaptation condition of North Korean(NK) refugees resettling in local areas and compared the results of the examination to the life conditions for those who are living in Seoul and its vicinities. As the result indicates, the first cohort is currently inferior to their counterpart in labor market activities, life satisfaction, and quantity and quality of resettlement assistance implemented by private voluntary agencies. The reason of selecting Busan as a specific case for this study is that: 1) Busan is the largest city in the number of NK refugees residence except for Seoul, 2) Busan has a couple of community welfare centers which are involved in the work of NK refugee resettlement as well as the reason that Busan provides convenience of conducting a survey to the researcher. The most significant contribution of this study to social work research and practice is that it applied the existing theoretical and practical approach of community resources development and networking of social supports to the field of NK refugee resettlement assistance. Based on the research findings, this study suggests that the roles and functions of Community Associations of NK Refugee Assistance should be more activating and that a community welfare center should a take critical role in organizing and activating the Community Associations. This paper also suggests specific ways of enhancing the role of community welfare centers in NK refugee assistance.

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

• Informatization Policy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.67-83
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• 2018

This study explores how social media influences individual's social development and well-being. Social media is discussed as an effective tool when individuals lacking social and psychological resources are trying to expand their social networks. This study focuses on the social media use of North Korean defectors, who, in general, have closed social media networks in the South Korean society. This study tries to analyze empirically the effect of social media use on North Korean defectors' satisfaction with our society. In particular, this study focuses on how the use of social media influences satisfaction with their life in South Korea at different levels of their emotional states. This study explores that the relationship between social media and satisfaction with their life in South Korea varies based upon the degree of self-esteem and anxiety. This study expects that social media might provide greater benefits for those who are experiencing low self-esteem and high anxiety. In addition, this study conducts the same analysis for the general public and then compares its results with the survey on North Korean defectors. According to the results of North Korean defectors' survey, the impact of social media use on satisfaction with their life in South Korea was greater for those with high anxiety than for those with low anxiety. Meanwhile, the impact was greater for those with high self-esteem than for those with low self-esteem.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.241-261
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• 2022

The present study aims to investigate the effects of information poverty on North Korean refugees' social adaptation to South Korea based on Chatman's Theory of Information Poverty (1996). Based on the Theory of Information Poverty, information poverty consists of four variables: Secrecy, Deception, Risk-taking, and information acceptance in response to situational relevance. And based on the previous studies, adaptation to South Korean life is divided into social adaptation and psychological adaptation. From August 4 to August 30, 2021, after approval by the IRB through the North Korean refugee support organization , surveys were conducted with North Korean refugees who had lived in South Korea for at least one year and were aged 19 or older. The 100 collected valid data were analyzed using frequency analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings of the study indicated that information poverty had significant effects on North Korean refugees' social and psychological adaptation. In particular, the "deception" variable had negative effects on social and psychological adaptation. The study has theoretical implications that it explains North Korean refugees' adaptation to South Korea based on Theory of Information Poverty by defining them as information poor. Above all, it attempts a quantitative approach through operationalization of key concepts unlike previous studies that were conducted with qualitative approaches.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.507-528
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• 2009

Coping and defense are similar psychological mechanisms to reduce stress response, but they are regarded as distinct from each other. Defense involved distortions of reality, but coping was used for strategies associated with accepting the true nature of the situation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the coping and defense features of the North Korean Defectors in the Rorschach test. The subjects were then categorized into four groups based on their birth place and gender: Male North Korean defectors( N=16), female North Korean defectors(N=28), male South Koreans(N=17), and female South Koreans(N=25). All subjects were individually administered the Rorschach test, and protocols were scored according to the Exner(2003)'s Rorschach Comprehensive systems. Coping or defense-related Rorschach variables were selected for analysis: EA, CDI, Adj D, EB style, Lamda, Zd, X-%, Xu%, W:Dd:D, P, reaction time, and other behavior characteristics during the testing. Compared with other groups, female North Korean defectors were more likely to show poor coping resources(low EA), adjustment difficulties(Adj D), and distortions of reality(high X-%). They also demonstrated more 'don't know' responses and more delayed responses than other groups. These findings suggest that poor coping resources make female North Korean defectors more vulnerable to stress, and psychological intervention such as social skills training may help them settle successfully in south Korea. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research were discussed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.5027-5033
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to analyze a qualitative research on the essential structure of the acculturation of North Korean defectors, who settled in South Korea. The participants in this study were nine North Korean defectors who had resided in the city of D, South Korea, for three years or more after defecting from North Korea. After an in-depth interview, collected data were analyzed by applying Colaizzi's phenomenological method. As a result, their acculturation were classified into three categories : 'heterogeneity coming from different cultures', 'undergoing various sufferings after defection', and 'trying to tide over the difficulties in the actuality'. And 11 clusters of theme were selected. It's basically meant in this study to find out problems North Korean Defectors encountered and their process of overcoming the difficulties in an effort to step up the acculturation of the new settlers and ease their difficulties. And it's suggested that adjustment programs should be provided for them to fit into South Korean society.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.354-372
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• 2020

This study analyzed how North Korean defectors recognized and overcame conflict in the South Korean job culture during the course of entering and settling into South Korea, and the association between their old career and adaptation within their new careers. The study selected 13 employed participants who entered South Korea more than five years ago and experienced working. Interviews were conducted over the course of five years. The topics were analyzed after performing interviews 60 to 120 minutes long by recording and transcribing the recordings and using semi-structured questionnaires for the 13 people. The results reflected the job environment in North Korea, their career background, factors for a successful new life, their constant efforts for employment, the difficult adaption to South Korean life, pursuing job stability, accepting South Korean culture, and career compromises. The results of this study are as follows. First, they undergo difficulty in the course of selecting jobs due to the converted environment from passivity to autonomy. Second, they cannot use their previous job history and they complained about prejudice and the lack of job information. Third, major problems included their lack of adaptability, stress, and loss of economic power. The study suggests that these North Korean defectors undergo an integrated course of cultural learning. Fourth, they were hardly able to adapt. Fifth, they tried to overcome conflicts of job culture according to their personal characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.33-54
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• 2007

This study was performed to develop a group counseling program for the South Koreans and the North Korean defectors to identify mutual cultural characteristics and personal traits, and to acquire adaptation capacity for the other's culture and interpersonal relationship. And then we validated the effect of this group program. This program was based on the existing program even if that was not validated through research work. Actually this program was for encouraging the South Koreans and the North Korean defectors to acquire interpersonal ability through mutually dependent and cooperative work based on the equal status naturally and to adjust themselves to corresponding culture. Each session continued for 1.5 hour per week. And the sessions were done for 4 weeks. This research was analysed, and the results were compared with control group's results. The results showed that treatment group revealed significantly positive outcomes than control group. But, five participants among the North Korean defectors were dropped out in the course. So North Korean defectors' credibility got lowered.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.107-117
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the causal relationship of related variables in order to promote entrepreneurship, which is one way to support the economic independence and stable settlement of North Korean defectors. This study is firstly to examine the influence of individualism and collectivism on entrepreneurial intentions, and secondly, to examine the mediating effect of social adaptability in the relationship between socialist value system and entrepreneurial intention. To this end, a survey was conducted on North Korean defectors, and the empirical analysis target was 223 North Korean defectors. For the verification of the causal relationship between personal disposition and entrepreneurial intention, and the causal relationship between value system and entrepreneurial intention PLS was used. And PROCESS for SPSS Macro was used to verify the mediating effect of social adaptation in the relationship between the value system and entrepreneurial intention. Looking at the results of the empirical analysis, the extraversion factor was found to have a positive effect on the entrepreneurial intention level of North Korean defectors, and the self-fulfillment desire factor was found to have a positive effect on the entrepreneurial intention. It was also found that individualist values have a positive effect on the entrepreneurial intentions of North Korean defectors, and collectivist values do not have a significant effect on the entrepreneurial intentions. As a result of examining the mediating effect of social adaptability between individualism/collectivism and entrepreneurial intention in this study, it was found that individualist value has a direct impact on entrepreneurial intention without engaging social adaptability.

• 프린팅코리아
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• s.7
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• pp.140-141
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• 2003