탈북대학생들의 국가정체성 형성과 변화

Abstract

North Korean defectors are settled in South Korea rise to 20,000 in November 2010. The defectors who had escaped from North Korea because of economic and political reasons have lived in neighboring countries under ‘refugees’ or ‘migrants’ status. After that, They have settled down as korean ever since they emigrated again to South Korea. Unlike other immigrants, they obtained the regal status as ‘the people’ of Korea. But they have a dual character that is not only the migrants characteristics that obtained through the experience of migration process, but also the identity of compatriot or the same Korean people that have the identical language and culture to South Koreans. The dual character makes it for defectors to difficult to form a national identity as a Korean. This study focuses the discussion that university students who have defected from North Korea via China build the national identity continuously through the interaction being experienced to settle down in South Korea. The university students have settled down in South Korea had experienced the defection from North Korea for their adolescent period, and had lived in an illegal status in China. After that, they emigrated again from China to South Korea to escape from the feeling a threat to his own safety and from the fear of repatriation. But, In contrast to expectations for a stable life, they became aware that to live in South Korea as a status of North Korea is difficult as in China. This causes, despite they have been lived in South Korea more then 3 years now, but there is difference among individuals, they don’t throughly forme their own national identity. Because of this, even though they have regal right as Korean, they don’t do making a support group as well as the basic obligations as citizens for country. it might be an obstacle that they could have the potential to emerge an influential group for society and to achieve a social integration between South Korea and North Korea.