The sociopolitical reality of the partition of the Korean peninsula over 50 years has set the North at odds with the South. The cultural conflicts of the North and South Koreans have become a serious social problem. Undergoing the unification process,...
The sociopolitical reality of the partition of the Korean peninsula over 50 years has set the North at odds with the South. The cultural conflicts of the North and South Koreans have become a serious social problem. Undergoing the unification process, the lack of mutual understanding and communication leads to misunderstanding and complication between the two as in the case of Germany.
However, little is known in the differences and similarities of the North and South together as a community in daily living. The researchers only have been concerned about the North Korean defectors’ adaptation and assimilation issues in South Korea. They have hardly dealt with the cross-cultural practical studies between the North and the South.
The differences and similarities in the North and the South Koreans can be understood by studying the intercultural families and the married couples of the two parts. Because the conjugal relations are the primary units of the social relations, intercultural couples (intermarriage) promote the assimilation and integration of a polyglot population into one community. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the ideal successful marital relationship of the North-South Korean intercultural couples, maintaining the key features of their cultural identities.
For the purpose of this research, the study was grounded in the couples’ narratives that are considered a form of social discourse rather than literary discourse. With a qualitative research design by applying a narrative inquiry into the family process experiences of intercultural couples, this study strove to shed light upon the North and South Koreans’ living experiences, meanings and processes. This exploratory study examined the narratives surrounding the following questions: 'How is their experience of the family process?' and 'how is the meaning of the experience?': What challenges do intermarried couples consider to be the greatest; how do they negotiate; what resources do they rely upon; what is longed for and what is avoided?
A narrative inquiry and socio-cultural constructivism were coincident with the purpose of this study. The narrative inquiry method which has a socio-cultural constructivism logic could be showed by the voice of the inter-married couples without breaking. Moreover this is very useful research methodology to understand private experience and social view surrounding the intermarriage couples.
Five North-South Korean couples who have been married more than two years were selected by snowball sampling method from an urban and rural area in South Korea. The collection of data was included mostly by depth interview and observation, a field note, a research diary, letters and e-mail with the subjects, and a participant's writing etc. A process of the analysis passed through a repeated reading and analysis. The description and the interpretation which go through whole narratives resolved the research question and social value of the stories by the participants.
As shown in the above process, the following themes were drawn out from family process experience of each North and South intermarriage couple. From [A]&[B] couples; 〈wife who saved spouse by marriage and husband who saved spouse's life by marriage〉, 〈belief that North is cold hearted and reality warm hearted North〉, 〈direct expression of North and double standard of South〉, 〈only three given chances and endless opportunities〉, 〈wife who is against restriction and husband who is worried constantly〉, 〈strict wife and loose husband〉, biased south and capable North〉, 〈confirming sincere love〉. From [C]&[D] couples: 〈innocent wife and secure husband〉, 〈absolute belief and freedom of religion〉, 〈husband who wants to enjoy romance and wife who thinks it's luxury〉, 〈living on my own and living with parents〉, 〈husband who celebrates anniversaries and uncomfortable North families〉, 〈taking care of as my own family〉, 〈asking when you don't know〉. From [E]&[F] couples; 〈innocence and being alert〉, 〈feeling sorry and feeling guilty〉, 〈marriage relationship between North and South are different〉, 〈North Reds and South Reds〉, 〈unconditioned criticism and realistic criticism〉, 〈male / female discrimination and male / female cooperation〉, 〈money is power and money is just money〉, 〈living with North defectors as one in community〉, 〈keeping North self dignity〉, 〈become and counsellor and educated〉, 〈praising each other〉, 〈expanding responsibility of a householder〉. From [G]&[H] couples; 〈enthusiastic husband and career woman wife〉, 〈marriage disapproval and marriage envy〉, 〈North is inferior and North is not inferior〉, 〈North is different and we are the same〉, 〈North family is priority and South family is priority〉, 〈North style and South style food〉, 〈North father and South mother〉, 〈romantic sympathizing about North〉, 〈better than South men〉, 〈taking mutual position〉. From [I]&[J] couples; 〈illusion and resting place〉, 〈husband who wants obedience and wife who disagrees〉, 〈wife with no ideology and husband who is outdated〉, 〈following essence and following Roman law in Rome〉, 〈husband who can't live with just bread and wife who earns bread〉, 〈blinded love and beast's acts〉, 〈black and white theory and comfortable and uncomfortable theory〉, 〈looking back at South and North〉, 〈finding meaning and learning Southern manners〉, 〈renewing North and South family〉.
From the five couples' narratives resulted in 〈meeting at DooMoolMeori〉,where the North Han river joins the South Han river, this Han river metaphor could describe the meaning of the experience in the intercultural couples' family process. This metaphor represents intercultural process of the North-South Korean couples. It means through South and North Koreans' marriage, they form a new type of family and by experiencing cultural differences in psychologically, relationally, and socially way they face all kinds of conflicts and challenges and by interacting and negotiation with their new tasks they create a new culture in the dynamic process.
Once more this metaphor was interpreted to get divided into 'above the surface of the river' and 'below the surface of the river' at the 〈DooMoolMeori〉 landscape. The former, which means the interaction of socio-structural landscape and the North-South Korean intercultural couple, got divided into 〈We are just like other couples at DooMoolMeori〉 which means the couples' adoption of the discourse of homogamy and 〈We are different from other couples at DooMoolMeori〉 which means the couples' adoption of the discourse of heterogamy. The latter, which means the interaction of psycho-relational landscape and the North-South Korean intercultural couple, got divided into 〈Unprepared meeting at DooMoolMeori-Unfamiliar spray〉, 〈Shaking up at DooMoolMeori-Wild waves〉, 〈Difference at DooMoolMeori-Rough whirlpool〉, and 〈Diversity at DooMoolMeori-Shining flow〉.
'Meeting-spray' landscape means the unique meeting process of the South Korean and the North Korean defector couples. From this process two themes were drawn out following as 〈doubt and curiosity〉 and 〈worry and envy〉. 'Shaking up-waves' landscape means the psycho-emotional challenging process of this couples, and four themes were drawn out from it: 〈surprise〉, 〈ambiguity and uncertainty〉, 〈confusion and absurdity〉, and 〈angry and discomfort〉. 'Difference-whirlpool' landscape means the relational-contextual challenging process of the couples, and eight themes were drawn out as following: 〈pride between a residence and confidence〉, 〈language between straight and roundabout speaking〉, 〈money between absolute and relative value〉, 〈gender role between discrimination and difference〉, 〈ritual between careless and carefulness〉, 〈behavior pattern between competence and rashness〉, 〈value between simplification and variety〉, and 〈bring up a child between independently and protectively〉. 'Diversity-flow' landscape means the process of the negotiation and change of the couples and its' themes were 〈healing〉, 〈co-existence〉, 〈familial attachment〉, 〈benchmarking〉, and 〈identity development〉.
From these landscape themes of the family experience in the North-South Korean intercultural couples, the couples were faced with difficulty by personal and cultural difference. But they interacted cross-culturally successfully overcome barriers to adjustment and consequently develop images of themselves as competent individuals and couple who can understand the viewpoints of people in various parts of the world. Also the alternatives which the couples found out made it possible to develop from the confrontation to the harmony of Korean society.
By studying it, we delve into a rich resource for our social work knowledge and practice on the North-South Korean intercultural couples’ dynamics, the adjustment of the North Korean defectors and the cultural minority, and on ensuring continuity of culture in the mixed community in the unified Korea. Overall, this research intends to be an initiative and fundamental study of the upcoming studies and the culturally sensitive social work practice and family social work practice in the unified Korea.