한국전쟁과 월남여성들의 전쟁경험과 인식 - 지역 차별인식과 결혼관을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This paper focuses on the women from North Korea amongst those who sought refuge into the south across the 38th parallel, during the Korean War, and via oral statement, examines their refugee life they have undergone and felt in the south and the regional discrimination they have experienced through the people in the south. Research on women, who are classified as the weakest who suffer the most during a war, is relatively scanty concerning their life, perception, and activity. The research of this paper is about their life based on the interviews with the women from North Korea around the period of the Korean War. The interviewees voluntarily compared South and North during the interview, and suggested that they, if they were singles at that time, preferred to marry a northern man The increase in the number of refugees due to the Korean War caused numerous problems. Let alone the problem of staples like food, clothing, and shelter, there were worries regarding spread of epidemics in refugee camps, outbreaks of fire, and raise in prices. In addition, there was a concern that the fifth column, who was to harass the battle line and the rear, might infiltrate along with the refugees. The fear for the fifth column gave more hardship to the refugees coming from the north, since they got discriminated by the prejudice that they might be ‘Reds.’ They generally think that they were perceived as ‘Reds’ by the people in South Korea. They also believe that this perception became the major reason that they got disregarded or treated inhumanly. The women from North Korea felt a strong discrepancy between their hometowns and the south, but they have also assimilated or changed into the life in South. That is, they have tried to stick to ‘their own’ on the one hand, and adapt/change themselves to the new environment. The recognition of discrimination/comparison can be formed ‘consciously’ in order to weather the tough life. It appears to have served as ‘energy’ that surmounted difficulties in life. This indeed led to the establishment of collective communities like a village of refugees from the north, and also helped to have strong regional solidarity. This can be well seen in their outlook on marriage and choice in marriage partners. The people from North Korea, those women in particular, were found in the interviews to have had preference for partners from the north.