A Study on the Psychological Well-Being of North Korean Defectors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether post-traumatic stress disorder mediates the relationship between traumatic experience and psychological well-being in North Korean defectors. The study used 285 surveys for data analysis. Results are as follows. The post-traumatic stress disorder of North Korean defectors mediated the relationship between their traumatic experience in North Korea, traumatic experience in the course of defecting and psychological well-being. This study suggests that it may be crucial to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder in order for North Korean defectors to settle down successfully in the South Korean society.

Keywords:

• North Korean defector
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• psychological well-being
• traumatic experience

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kim Sang Ok

Kim Sang Ok earned her doctorate in social welfare from Sungshin Women’s University, South Korea. She is a director of the Korean Academic Society of Welfare Management and her own psychological counseling research institute. She is a Head professor of Child Counseling at Graduate School of Public Policy & Civic Engagement Kyung Hee University, South Korea. Her research interests are social welfare, child counseling and educational psychology. Recently, she has focused on the relationship between parents and teachers and children.