The purpose of this study is to gain a full understanding of the experience of trauma recovery among the North Korean refugees in the South Korea, so as to develop a practice theory and to find social work implications. Two research questions are bas...
The purpose of this study is to gain a full understanding of the experience of trauma recovery among the North Korean refugees in the South Korea, so as to develop a practice theory and to find social work implications. Two research questions are based: one is 'what is the experience of the North Korean refugees' trauma?' and the other is 'what are their experiences of trauma recovery?' These questions are examined based on the phenomenological research method introduced by Giorgi.
A thorough investigation on the North Korean refugees' trauma recovery is a new field because only a few researchers have been done on this topic in Korea. Thus, this researcher chooses a qualitative research method for this approach.
This researcher have attempted to understand the essence and the meaning of trauma among this group by exploring Giorgi's phenomenological method, The researcher used this method to describe the North Korean refugees'words straightforward, transform them into disciplinary expression, and analyze the expression in depth. Because it using snowball sampling methods, 5 North Korean refugees were recruited, who were able to lively communㅑcate with this researcher. The participants ages range from 20 to 30. The data were collected for 6 months from June 2006 to November 2006. In-Depth Interview and on various personal records like subject's diary were used. Before the interviews, the interviewer explained the purpose of the study to this participants and obtained the written informed consents from the participants.
For the purpose of sufficient data, each interview was proceeding from 5 times to over 10 times and it took one to one and a half per interview on the average.
Depending on participants, based on Giorgi's suggestion for analysis of scientific phenomenology, the researcher tried to grasp the meaning of the participants' statements by reading transcription several times. This researcher then transformed the given meaning units into the best disciplinary expressions of social work study. Using free imaginative variation, This researcher then derived 41 sub-constituents and 6 constituents from those meaning units which were described by a disciplinary expressions.
The constituents and the sub-constituents as a result of analysis are:
<Voluntary or non-voluntary entrance to a new world after struggling for life: commotion caused by food shortage, social atmosphere like war, destruction of family life, having an interest in adjacent country, crossing over the China under the family destruction, loss of identity due to illegal stay, life anxiety and danger as an unprotected illegal stayer, suffering from the prisoner life, inevitable crossing to the South Korea, voluntary or non-voluntary entrance to new world through the suffering from the crossing of the 3rd country>
<Unexpected shock and chaos: crossing the shock and hope in the protected world, awareness of the unmanageable reality in the new country, difference of reality from education contents in Hanawon; experience of post-traumatic stress, concealing of the North Korean's identity by the discrimination from the South Korean, denial of the North Korean's identity by the difference of language, psychological fetters by acculturative stress and sense of competition, the limitation of essentially inner communication with the South Korean>
<The loss of meaning for the escaping from the North Korea: regression of escaping from the North Korea due to detachment and yearning for left objects>
<Recovery of suffering with personal, social, religious, and mental health factors: severance of the North Korean as object in the suffering world, seeking out the supportive South Korean, constructing meaning of life and self-management, self-exploration, hardiness and reinforcement of psychological aspects, transforming suffered experience to psychological energy for facing difficult reality, downward comparison, caring for the left family in the North Korea. consideration of family function, getting the necessary instrumental and emotional support from the South Korean, mutual acceptance of the North Korean with the same natured suffering, religious coping, coping with alcohol, medicines and suicide, the North Korean's lacking understanding the mental health and the South Korean' s lacking understanding the experience of the North Korean>
<Rebuilding meaning of life and integration of attitude: making a positive standpoint for the life in South Korea, integrating the South Korean style and the North Korean style>
<Posttraumatic growth after struggles: perceived benefit from relationship, psychological growth after post-trauma, doing the role of survivor, making a new perspective through spirituality, fading away the memory of parents and siblings except for children, who are making my own life extended, maintaining reality with hope beyond the inner suffering>
This researcher found out a structure of the experience on trauma recovery among North Korean refugees with chronological descriptions of the dynamic relationship among the constituents.
Even though the North Korean refugees experienced the posttraumatic growth, all of their memory and emotion with relevant to trauma in the past could not disappear. Their vulnerability exists.
As a result of this research, I discussed social work implications and suggestions.
In the theoretical aspect, this study provides it is possible for The North Korean refugees to experience the posttraumatic growth with recovery factors. this kind of study has been rarely in Korea. And the researcher found out that the pattern of recovery is somewhat different from that in a western country's refugees.
In the practical aspect, this study suggests it be more effective to use not deficit model but ecosystemic and empowering model for the North Korean refugees. And when their growth is expanded, their adjustment in this new world can be more facilitated.
In the political aspect, this study offers more flexible and alternative way of social policy, which would be reasonable for the context of the North Korean refugees.
Finally, further researchers are expected to find more effective and positive recovering factors for the posttraumatic growth of The North Korean refugees.