탈북 이주민들의 환상과 부적응 - 남한사회의 인식혼란과 그 영향을 중심으로

Abstract

This paper looks at the effects of the changes in the perception of the North Korean refugees by the South Korean society, and the differences in perceptions among different social groups. It also examines their effects on the North Korean refugees' adaptation to the South Korean Society, and the problems in government policy. The difficulties the North Korean refugees face in adapting to the South Korean society have often been explained in terms of the grand differences between the socialist and capitalist cultures. Instead, this paper focuses on the changes and conflicts in the logics of the South Korean society. Civil war and separation, cold war, and the post cold war periods have each formed particular political conceptualizations and social perceptions of the North Korean refugees in the South, which in turn have instigated concomitant political reactions. These factors have all been constituting the social environments for the North Korean refugees. The international political atmosphere and the South-North relations have changed dramatically, but the conceptualization of the refugees has not gone through a fundamental change due to the rivalry between the two countries. The perceptions of, and also the interests in, the North Korean refugees have also varied among social groups in South Korea due to the discrepancies in their views on the issues of separation and unification As the North Korean refugees are staring to form a considerable minority group in South Korea, the outdated perceptions and instrumental reactions of the South Korean society should be examined closely.