북한이탈주민과 기독교―민간단체를 중심으로

Abstract

Since the 1990s, when North Korean Refugees began to appear in larger numbers, Christian organizations and workers have been deeply involved in everything from escape from North Korea to entry to South Korea. The purpose of this study is to summarize these relationships by stages and to look at the course of the transition as well as to think about the improvement. Firstly, the current situation of North Korean Refugees in South Korea was clarified through the available statistical data. Secondly, the role of Christian organizations a) outside South Korea, b) in the stage of entry and settlement in South Korea was examined. Almost always Christians only could support North Korean Refugees living abroad who had difficulty in getting the needed support from public NGO and governmental activities. In addition, Christianity plays an important role to aid their settling in South Korea. Through these Christian contributions, many North Korean Refugees have gone to church and have maintained their Christian faith. However, the issue of massive offensive, competitive, and one-off event support has been pointed out as problems in the role of Christianity. As a result, many North Korean Refugees move away from the Christian church over time. In order to solve these problems, this study suggests 1) to share the resources of the individual Christian actors and coordinate their roles, 2) to cooperate with existing social welfare system and international NGOs, 3) to develop a self-help community of North Korean Refugees, and 4) to specialize in the ministry for supporting North Korean Refugees.