Psychiatry Investigation
Volume 15, Issue 11, 2018, Pages 1019-1029

What is it to be mentally healthy from the North Korean refugees’ perspective?: Qualitative research on the changes in mental health awareness among the North Korean refugees (Article) (Open Access)

Yu S. , Jang J. , Noh J.-W. , Kwon Y.D. , Park H. , Woo J.-M.*
  • a Department of Healthcare and Medicine for Unified Korea, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
  • b Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
  • c Department of Healthcare Management, Eulji University, Seongnam, South Korea, Global Health Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
  • d Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, College of Medicine and Catholic Institute for Healthcare Management, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea
  • e Gyeonggi Public Health Policy Institute, Seongnam, South Korea
  • f Seoul, South Korea

Abstract

Objective We investigated how mental health awareness among North Korean refugees transformed depending on temporal-spatial context changes. Methods In 2013, we conducted interviews with 10 refugees (eight women) who had been in South Korea for over a year and performed a qualitative analysis of the change in mental health awareness in the differences between living in North Korea, escape (a related period of forced sojourn in a third country), and settlement in South Korea. Results We classified 39 concepts into five main categories. The first two categories (while living in North Korea) were “a mindset for the system, but not for individual mental health” and “being confined in a social environment that was indifferent to mental health.” A third category appeared during escape: “focusing on survival amid continuity of intense suffering.” The final two categories appeared when settling in South Korea: “recognition of mental health amid cultural shock” and “introspection and sorting oneself out.” Conclusion This qualitative study enabled a better multi-dimensional understanding of the social and cultural aspects involved in improving mental health awareness among North Korean refugees in South Korea. It is desirable to integrate mental health as a part of daily life and to expand training for North Korean settlers. © 2018 Korean Neuropsychiatric Association.

Author Keywords

qualitative research Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Awareness Mental health Refugees

Index Keywords

controlled study female introspection refugee qualitative analysis awareness clinical article North Korea qualitative research Article interview mental health human adult Social Environment human experiment
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85059270975&doi=10.30773%2fpi.2018.09.10&partnerID=40&md5=661cad70e61953ba4b2b665672db9389
DOI: 10.30773/pi.2018.09.10
ISSN: 17383684
Original Language: English