코로나시대 탈북민의 정신건강과 한국교회

Abstract

North Korean defectors live with trauma for the psychological shock they experienced during defection and the pain they went through at the crossroads of life and death. Various studies on their trauma have followed one after another. The latest ones include “Effects of Domestic Violence on Mental Health of Victimized Female North Korean Defectors” (Cho Sung-hee et al., 2019). This study is to look into North Korean defectors’ mental health-related difficulties increasing in the contactless way of life caused by the sudden COVID-19 outbreak. This study utilizes existing studies and literature studies on factors affecting North Korean defectors’ mental health during their empirical settlement in the two Korean societies. This study examines the background of mental health they experienced in the closed North Korean society and their settlement process in South Korea and seeks measures for their mental health stability. The analysis was conducted by referring to the “Emergency Survey: North Korean Defectors’ Society in COVID-19” seminar of Radio Free Asia and Saejowi Initiative for National Integration in November 2020 and an online seminar Hanawon and National Mental Health Center hosted in December. According to the result of the analysis, the threat of unemployment attributable to economic difficulties, loneliness, and social relations are three of the factors that threaten North Korean defectors’ mental health amid COVID-19. In view of their negative mental health status and its seriousness in the pandemic era, the conclusion of this study presents cases and roles of relevant institutions and organizations, South Korean churches in particular.