북한이탈주민 초기 정착지원 방안 연구: 메타버스 기반 교육 플랫폼 구축을 중심으로

Abstract

The problem of refugees and migrants is sharpening around the world, and the problem of social adaptation of new populations is emerging. Recently, a number of studies have been conducted that as an alternative, it can help new population inflows adapt to society and ultimately have a positive effect on social integration by enhancing the learning effect using the metaverse. In terms of education, it has been confirmed that the metaverse not only increases motivation and participation in learning through combination with immersive technology, but also improves academic achievement, collaboration, and social skills. In particular, when VR was used, it showed three times higher learning effect compared to learners who received traditional education. As such, the metaverse is an interactive function that maximizes immersion, enhancing users’ emotional stability and strengthening knowledge learning and memorization ability. In accordance with this global trend, this study analyzed the implications of introducing a metaverse-based platform as a new educational medium and examined the specific direction of implementation as a way to improve the effectiveness of the initial social adaptation program for North Korean defectors provided by Hanawon. A detailed operation plan was established by dividing the operation of the North Korean defector platform to support initial settlement into three stages: construction-pilot project implementation, stabilization, and expansion. The South Korean government is the main body of the platform operation, and the ministry that performs practical projects is the Ministry of Unification, which operated the metaverse platform-based DMZ experience service for the first time in the government in 2022. In the first stage, a platform can be built through the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, and a pilot project can be promoted by limiting it to areas with high priority using Hanawon. When entering the second stage of stabilization, the scope of education targets will be expanded from Hanawon residents to North Korean defectors settling in the local community. From step 3, the program can be expanded to foreigners wishing to migrate and settle in South Korean society as well as North Korean defectors in third countries through active promotion at the government level. In terms of operation plans, the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund can be used to build a platform in the early stages. However, in order to revitalize the participation of private companies in the mid to long term, various institutional and social devices should be considered together, such as the government’s financial support and the use of domestic companies’ metaverse technology as a testbed to accumulate experience.