• MALSORI
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• no.29_30
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• pp.61-94
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• 1995

The aim of this paper is to describe the linguistic differences of two Koreas with a special emphasis on the phonetic aspect of Seoul and Pyongyang speech. The sources of the North Korean speech material used in the study are 1) the Pyongyang radio and TV broadcasts, 2) interviews of north Korean defectors and 3) speech material of north Korean scholars collected by the writer in london, Warsaw, France and China between 1989 and 1994. The most noticeable phonetic differences of Seoul and Pyongyang speech are abstracted as follows: 1) The vowels /이/, /에/ and /애/ are higher and fronter in Pyongyang speech than in Seoul speech. 2) The vowels /우/ and /으/ of Pyongyang speech are somewhat fronter than the corresponding vowels of Seoul speech. 3) The Pyongyang vowels /으/ and if are produced with rounded lips compared to the corresponding Seoul vowels. 4) The Pyongyang vowel /h) is much lower in tongue position and at the same time somewhat fronter than the corresponding Seoul vowel. 5) The consonants /r ,i ,n / are pronounced in Pyongyang as alveolar affricates or something close to them whereas they are pronounced in Seoul as post-alveolar affricates. 6) Unlike in Seoul speech there is a very strong tendency in Pyongyang speech to reduce aspiration feature in consonant seouences such as /ㅂ+ㅎ/, /ㄷ+ㅎ/, /ㄱ+ㅎ/. 7) /ㄴ/ and /ㄹ/(flap) freely occur word-initially in Pyongyang speech whereas they are restricted in Seoul speech. 8) Unlike in Seoul speech the phonemic contrast of long and short vowels are generally not functional in Pyongyang speech. Thus the vowels pronounced long in Seoul speech are usually pronounced short in Pyongyang speech.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.80-91
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• 2022

Purpose: This study developed an instrument to evaluate the health empowerment of North Korean women refugees and examined its validity and reliability. Methods: Through literature review and focused group interviews, 66 preliminary items with three constructs, including perceived control, perceived competence, and goal internalization were selected based on Menon's psychological health empowerment model. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 239 North Korean women refugees in the community from August 31 to September 4, 2020. Content, construct, convergent, and discriminative validity were evaluated. Cronbach's α was used to evaluate the reliability of scale. Results: The final instrument consisted of 31 items with three factors that were identified through confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent validity showed that the correlation coefficient was .52 (p < .001), which confirmed the validity of the developed measurement tool. Cronbach's α for all the items was .94, and Cronbach's α for the factors was .76~.91. Conclusion: This health empowerment scale has been developed to include aspects of health empowerment, provide a conceptual framework, and offer objective indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of a health education program.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.89-111
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• 2012

Since the U.S. government officially accepted North Korean(NK) as refugees starting in 2006, about 120 North Koreans have come to and been living in the United States. However, little is known in regard to what the North Korean refugees need for a qualify life. This study aims to explore the essential experiences of North Korean defectors who have settled in the United States after escaping North Korea. Research inquiries are why North Korean refugees have chosen the United States for their settlement, and how they are living in the United States. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with eight NK refugees. For data analysis, grounded theory approach by Strauss and Corbin(1998) was employed. The data analysis identified the central phenomenon, protective and risk factors, and core actions and consequences of NK refugees' adjustment in the U.S. The central phenomenon was "voluntary choose to come to the U.S." The core action and consequences in the process of their adjustment were 'searching for the meaning of life,' and 'achieving acculturation.' The findings may provide deeper understanding on the situation of North Korean refugees in the U.S. and implications for how to help them adjust well in the society.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2010

Objectives : This study investigated the influence of traumatic experience on the ego identity, self-esteem, and general psychopathology of adolescent North Korean refugees. Methods : The participants were 146 adolescents North Korean refugees who attended H High School for North Korean refugees. We divided the subjects into two groups according to the severity of their traumatic experience : the more-traumatic-experience group and the less-traumatic-experience group. Each group performed self-report assessments including an assessment to reveal demographic characteristics, the Traumatic Experiences Scale for North Korean Defectors, the Scale for Ego identity, the Scale for Self-esteem and the Symptom Check-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). Statistical analysis of t-test and multiple regression utilized SPSS 12.0 for Window for comparison between more-traumatic-experience group and less-traumatic-experience group. Results : The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder among adolescents North Korean refugees was 37%. The factor with the greatest influence on ego identity was length of time living in South Korea, while, for self-esteem the most influential factor was perception of health. The more-traumatic-experience group had lower self-esteem scores on some subscales of the Scale for Ego identity. They had higher scores on all SCL-90-R subscales than the less-traumatic-experience group. Conclusion : Adolescent North Korean refugees experienced high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder. The more traumatic-experience-group had lower self esteem and poorer ego identity and mental health than the less-traumatic-experience group.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 2020

There is a noticeable gap in the personnel structures of clinical laboratories between North Korea and South Korea. In North Korea, 'Laboratory Doctor' is similar to the workforce of 'Medical Technologist (commonly known as Clinical Laboratory Technologist or Medical Laboratory Scientist)' in South Korea. Considering preceding research based on the verbal evidence of North Korean healthcare personnel defectors, it is estimated that the status of laboratory doctor in North Korea generally corresponds to physician and feldsher (such as physician assistant in Western countries). Physicians and feldshers are trained and fostered for five and a half years in medical universities and for three years in medical vocational schools (so-called junior college of medicine). Unlike South Korea, the North Korea's healthcare personnel system does not subdivide the tasks, education, qualifications and law regarding the specialties of health experts. It is thought that the Korean Association of Medical Technologists needs to collaboratively search and present the milestones for establishment of a professional system on clinical laboratory personnel in North Korea through cooperative research on policies with the related organizations for better preparation of the unification of the Korean Peninsula.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

Background: 8,000 children in North Korea died before they reached the 1 year after births in 2013. The high mortality rate of children under five years of age is mainly caused by infectious diseases and malnutrition. The need for national pediatric immunization and supply of vaccines will be vital when the abrupt reunification occurs. Objective: The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the pediatric immunization coverage of North Korea. Additionally it is to estimate the amount and the costs needed to vaccinate. Methods: The target population is the children of North Korea. The method is based on a pre-survey and an interview of North Korea defectors. The target interviewees searched for are as follows; doctors, teachers, and others. The interview includes questions on mortality rates and immunization coverage. The analysis is largely based on the statements of the health care providers within the selected group. Results: The interviewees are 8; 7 female and 1 male. The birth years range from 1956 to 1982. 3 out of 8 are former health care providers; a doctor, a pharmacist, and a nurse. The morbidity rate of infectious diseases exceeds the data from WHO. The immunization coverage is nearly 0% after 1980s. In order to ensure the welfare of North Korean children, at least 8,234,000 vaccine doses, requiring over 105 million U.S. dollars, are needed. Conclusion: The morbidity rate of infectious disease in North Korea is conspicuous. The preparation for supply and expenditure of vaccines is vital.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.70-76
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• 2018

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of North Korean refugees' trust in South Korea health service. Methods: This study surveyed 168 North Korean refugees aged 19 and over living in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon. The collected data were analyzed by frequency analysis, t-test, analysis of variance, and hierarchical regression analysis to analyze the effect on the trust of refugees. Results: The difference analysis showed statistically significant difference according to duration of residence and employment status. The determinants of North Korean refugees' trust in South Korea health services were duration of residence, basic communication skills, health communication skills, and experience of health service. Conclusion: In order to increase the trust of North Korean defectors in South Korea medical services, it is necessary to resolve communication problems and improve the satisfaction of health services. For this, the interpreter service should be activated. And specific education should be given to the North Korean refugees about the health care system and the utilization methods of health service in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.109-117
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the customized oral health promotion program for North Korean defectors (NKDs). Methods: Using a pre-survey comprising phases 1-5 of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, a customized oral health promotion program was created. The participants, a total of 129 NKDs, were allocated to the experimental group (n=64; 43 females and 21 males) or the control group (n=65; 46 females and 19 males). After the interventions, phases 7 to 9 of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model were executed to determine the effect of the program. Results: The results for phase 7 revealed high satisfaction with the program, with an average of 2.89 out of 3 points. In phase 8, concerning the impact evaluation, it was found that oral health beliefs and oral health knowledge were improved, with statistically significance differences before and after the experiment. Phase 9, concerning the outcome evaluation, showed that there were statistically significant differences in the average within groups before and after education in oral health beliefs (OHB), O'Leary index scores, and CPI. In terms of the difference between the groups, there were statistically significant improvement in OHB, O'Leary index scores, and CPI after the education program. Conclusions: The oral health promotion program developed in this study has made a positive contribution to improve the oral health status of NKDs.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.27-33
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• 2017

The problem of social adaptation of North Korean defectors is becoming increasingly important, as its core significance shifted from welfare to the preparatory stage of United Korea. Hence, this research tries to comprehend the 'factors that enhance their social adaptation'. For this end, by theoretically considering, support resources centered around economic goals did indeed increase the employment rate, but the 'premature social adaptation' did not help them form their own social identity. This led the employment to become another form of social failure and difficulty in social adaptation. Furthermore, by going through interview, the importance of 'social dependence' is emphasized and it was shown that it was 'relationship' that affects both social adaptation and difficulty in social adaptation. Accordingly, this research suggests that it is vital to make a communicative environment in which South and North Korean citizens can freely communicate. This will not only lead to enhancement of social adaptation to South Korean society, unsolvable by economic independence, but it will also lead to more effective 'economic support' policies.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.117-122
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• 2017

North Korean youth is a youth aged 6 to 18 who lives in a South Korean society after having left North Korea. In this study, photo-in-education (PIE) provides North Korean youths with opportunities for cultural and arts education, and to help them adjust themselves to South Korean society. As a result, they, as young people who are exploring a new life in South Korea, have been able to express their own inner world through photos, videos, and writings. Also, young people have developed a bright and clear mind, and enhanced an expressive power and logical power that helps grow healthily and intelligently. Further, it is the aim of this education to help them to have a positive feeling for society and to do their best to become a healthy member of society, who will be able to contribute to society. Through PIE, it was found that North Korean defectors were able to see themselves positively and express their own inner self positively, despite that they are still in the negative and shady side of life.