탈북아동의 남한사회에서의 초기 적응 연구 = (A) study on the initial adjustment of the North Korean defecting children in South Korea

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 그동안 연구가 미비하였던 탈북아동의 남한사회에서의 적응과정을 문헌을 통해 알아보고자 하였다. 첫째, 먼저 탈북아동 관련 문헌과 인터넷 자료 등을 통해 탈북아동들이 북한에 있을 당시의 생활실태를 밝히고자 하였다. 또한 문헌자료를 통해서 탈북아동들의 남한사회에서의 초기 적응과정을 살펴보았다. 둘째, 탈북아동에 대한 초기 지원체계를 관련문헌 및 탈북아동들이 초기에 입학하는 삼죽 초등학교를 방문 면담을 통해 관련 자료를 수집하여 정리하였다. 셋째, 남한사회 편입 후 이미 정착하여 적응하고 있는 탈북아동들의 남한사회 후기 적응 체제나 지원 등을 관련 문헌을 통해 조사하였다. 본 연구의 내용을 요약하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 탈북자들이 2000년대에 들어와서부터는 가족단위 탈북자의 입국사례가 늘어나면서 여성과 노인층, 아동, 청소년의 수가 급증하고 있어 탈북 유형 및 탈북아동들은 같은 민족이라는 동질성이 강조되어 왔지만 남북한의 실제적인 만남에서는 외형상 신체적인 차이, 문화적 경험과 언어 사용 상의 차이, 나이에 따른 학습경험 차이 등 문화적 이질감으로 인해 스스로 심리적인 차별의식과 소외감을 느끼면서 좌절감을 많이 경험하고 있었다. 둘째, 탈북아동들은 남한사회에 입국하자마자 조사기관에서 1개월간 조사를 받고, 또 2개월간 통일부 하나원에서 남한사회에 적응을 하는데 필요한 기본적인 소양을 갖출 수 있도록 교육훈련을 받으며, 하나원 내의 대안학교인 하나둘학교와 하나원 인근지역에 위치한 삼죽 초등학교에 편입되면서 교육을 받아 이들이 학교 및 가정생활에 바로 적응하며 생활해 나갈 수 있도록 지원받고 있다. 그러나 이들의 적응교육이 정부의 노력만으로는 효과가 미비한 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 탈북아동들은 하나원에서 2달간 초기 적응기간이 끝난 후 개별적으로 정착지로 배정받고 이동하게 된다. 가족이 있는 탈북아동들은 가족과 함께 정착지로 가게 되고 무연고 아동. 청소년은 성인이 되어 집이 나올 때까지 정부에서 연결해 주는 하늘 꿈 학교 등 기숙 보호시설로 가게 된다. 부모들도 새로운 환경에 적응하느라 힘들고, 경제적으로 넉넉하지 않으므로 자녀의 학업을 위한 효과적인 지원을 해주지 못하고 있었으며, 교회의 야학, 복지관의 방과 후 교실, 자원봉사자의 학습지도 등 민간자원의 도움을 얻기도 하지만 탈북아동에 맞는 체계적인 교육방법과 학업 격차의 보완책이 매우 미흡한 것으로 나타났다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study was conducted to see how well the North Korea defecting children adjusted themselves to a new environment in South Korea. First, through literature review and Internet search on the study subject, this study identified the living conditions of North Korea. Furthermore, this study identified the initial period of adjustment for the North Korean asylum children to a new environment in South Korea. Second, this study summarized the support or networking system given to the children during their initial adjustment process. Then, the researcher visited Samjuk Elementary School and interviewed either their home-room teachers or their classmates to update the data collected. Third, this study further reviewed the related literature to identify the adjustment and support system during the post-initial stage for those who have already settled down in South Korea. The results of the study were as follows: 99 First, the number of northern defectors to South Korea has been increased since the year 2000. More and more North Korean escapees, who wanted to seek and succeeded in taking refuge in South Korea, came down to South Korea with their families, rather than individuals, which resulted in the increase in the number of the elderly, women, children, and teenagers. Though it has been emphasized that both North and South Koreans are the people who share the same national identity and pride, those asylum seeking families experienced a high level of anxiety and frustration due to the feelings of isolation and discrimination, because they soon realized that neither of them had the same external or physical appearances, culture, language usage, and learning experiences by the age level. Second, the children among the North Korean defectors had to be investigated at the intelligence agency for about one month as soon as they arrived in South Korea, followed by two months of training for the adjustment at Hana Won under the Ministry of National Unification, which demanded fundamental knowledge and skills for living in a new environment. The North Korean children were then transferred either to an alternative school called Hana Dul School or Samjuk Elementary School which is located nearby the Hana Won. Over there, the children received formal education essential for living at school and home. However, only the governmental support and training programs were not shown as effective for them to have adjustment skills. Third, after the North Korean children completed the two-month training at Hana Won, the resettlement area was assigned to them. The children who had the family went to the resettlement area with their family, while the children without families ended up living in a boarding school or a shelter such as Haneul Keum (Heaven Dream) School that had a close connection with the Korean government. Over there, they went to school until they grew up to be independent adults and a place to live was given to them. In spite of all those governmental support, it was found that the parents of the North Korean children experienced hardship adjusting themselves to the new environment and were financially incapable of supporting their children. Although some children received private support from the schools run by churches, after-school activities offered by welfare agencies, or private tutoring given by volunteers, these private and social support systems were not as sufficient enough to have a full understanding of living in the new environment, either. This study suggested that the initial adjusting training programs for the North Korean defecting children should include more comprehensive programs so that the children could acquire more practical knowledge and skills for decent living and for catching up with the academic performance in South Korea.