With the rapid increase in the number of North Korean Refugees coming to the South, more refugee children or youths are settling down in South Korea. But due to the lack of appropriate programs and plans for supporting these children and youths, vario...
With the rapid increase in the number of North Korean Refugees coming to the South, more refugee children or youths are settling down in South Korea. But due to the lack of appropriate programs and plans for supporting these children and youths, various maladjustment issues are arising. More support plans are being prepared of late, but they are notably focused on adapting to schools and improving scholastic performance.
For those resettling in the new environment called South Korea, proper information and material support for getting good grades is indeed important. However capabilities to rationally deal with the diverse problems that they face in the South Korean society everyday is much more of a priority. This is because while everyday problem solving skills should be a normal and basic part of life, just like breathing, it is by no means normal or basic to these refugee children and youths from North Korea.
Therefore this study aims to focus on the social problem solving skills of a North Korean youth and the various issues the individual may face while living in South Korea as a refugee. In order to choose the factors that help a North Korean youth properly solve everyday issues faced in South Korea, the study first looks into theories on problem solving and selects ‘social support’ and ‘self-esteem’ as important causal factors.
To understand problem solving skills of North Korean refugee youths in South Korea, the dependent variable of this study, adaptations from “Social Problem Solving Inventory Revised(SPSI-R)” developed by Maydeu-Olivers and D’Zurilla (1996) were used in this study, with the help of an expert in the adaptation process. To understand social support, an independent variable of this study, revisions made by Yi So Rae(1997) from “Social Support Scales” developed by Pak Ji Won(1985), were used in this study, dividing social support by each support unit, i.e. family, teacher, friend, and social worker. To understand self-esteem, the other independent variable of this study, adaptations made by Jun Byung Jae (1974) from “Rosenberg Self-Esteem(RSE) Scale” developed by Rosenburg(1965), were used in this study. Control variables were selected based on preceding studies on North Korean Refugees and youths. They included different aspects of the sample such as, age, family presence, number of family members living together, length of stay in China and other 3rd states, length of stay in South Korea, and economic affluence.
Study results reveal that social support from family members and social workers have effect on the social problem solving skills of North Korean youths in South Korea. Also the self-esteem of the individual North Korean youth appeared to have the most crucial effect on social problem solving skills.
It is possible to conclude that, in order to help North Korean youths solve their various issues properly and rationally, more ways to facilitate their use of social welfare centers and support groups, eventually increasing the level of social support they get, need to be prepared. Also, improving self-esteem levels is a key priority to enhance the problem solving skills of North Korean youths. Approaches to develop a higher self-esteem in North Korean youths, such as programs for self-esteem improvement or self-development need to be developed and provided. Examples of such programs for North Korean youths include, volunteer work opportunities to help underprivileged South Korean neighbors, learning-by-doing programs focused on understanding the South Korean society, hobby or talent development programs, group counseling programs focused on understanding not only themselves but others including their family. Such programs can create opportunities to develop more positive ideas about one self and will help each individual more proactively plan their life and rationally deal with the numerous issues they face everyday.