Breathing Democratic Air: North Korean Refugees’ Sociocultural Learning about Democracy

• In Event: Highlighted session: Critical reflections on refugee and immigrant experiences in the global north and south

Proposal

Breathing Democratic Air: North Korean Refugees’ Sociocultural Learning about Democracy


Abstract
This article examines North Korean refugees’ sociocultural learning experience of democracy in the United States. Four North Korean refugees were interviewed about their motivation of departure and initial arrival, recognition of democratic experiences and of learning experiences about democracy both in and out of school, and reflection on influential learning experiences and suggestions. By analyzing data (i.e., interviews, documents) through a situational analysis approach, the findings suggest that North Korean refugees’ narratives provide an evidence of knowledge acquisition about democracy, norms and expectations of living in a democratic society via formal and informal learning through institutional programs and non-formal learning sources (e.g., media, social interaction). Overall, this study provides prototypes of political socialization of refugees originating from non-democratic nations.

Research Purposes and Questions
North Koreans have limited exposure to democracy prior to reaching a democratic nation through their harrowing journey for an extended period (Armstrong, 2011; Cohen, 2014). In this aspect, our aim in this study is to explore North Korean refugees’ learning experiences of understanding democracy, relevant norms and expectations. Specifically, two questions are addressed. First, what is the North Korean refugees’ perception of living in a democratic society in comparison to their former experiences of living in North Korea and China? Second, how have they shaped their perspective and acquisition of norms, expectations, and contradictions of living in a democratic society?

Conceptual Framework
Sociocultural learning theory emphasizes the influence of culture, social interactions and historical events that shape individual knowledge and understanding (Ivic, 1994). In this study, I examine the influences of sociocultural learning, which specifically, regarding major life events, interpersonal conversations, media exposure, and schooling experience as a comprehensive learning source for North Korean refugees who have no prior experience with democracy to acquire knowledge about democracy and its norms and expectations of living in a democratic society (see Figure 1).


Figure 1. North Korean Refugees’ Sociocultural Learning of Democracy

Methods & Data
People’s narratives are often a reflection of their consciousness, and the process of sharing narratives is a process of meaning-making (Seidman, 2013). I gathered data from individual interviews with four North Korean adult settlers in the US aged from 18 to 45, both men and women who have attended secondary schools and/or higher education institutions in any democratic society (e.g., South Korea and/or the US). All interviews were recorded upon consent with IRB approval. With the collected interview scripts, situational analysis approach is adopted for data analysis. Specifically, I used three different situational analysis maps for analysis and outcome presentation: an ordered situational map, a social worlds/arenas map, and a positional map (Clarke, 2003).

Results
First, the ordered situational map (Figure 2) shows a complete list of individual human actors, organizations, major individual events, historical incidences, ideas and concepts, and political, sociocultural, psychological elements prevailing in the interviewees’ narratives. It both shows complex situations with diverse actors (Clarke, 2003) and the open-coding outcomes (Clarke & Charmaz, 2014). Second, the social worlds/arenas map (Figure 3) graphically visualizes the complex situations with the categorized codes. It neatly shows North Korean refugees’ journey from the oppressive worlds to democratic worlds in a chronological order. Once codes and categories are developed through these two maps, a theory is developed through the positional map (Figure 4). Since situational analysis approach is based on postmodernism, such theory is tentative, ongoing, and flexible by nature. Based upon interview responses, five prototypes are developed to represent North Korean refugeeslevels of understanding about democracy and levels of participation (see figure 4).

1) Ideal type: This position shows high levels of understanding about democracy through media, historical events, social interactions, and schooling accompanied by high levels of participation (e.g., voting, understanding of social issues and involvement in civil society)
2) Active type: This position shows high levels of participation with a lack of some theoretical knowledge about democracy.
3) Ambivalent type: This position shows high or moderate levels of knowledge acquisition but one’s participatory experience does not fully represent the ideals of democratic principles, thus showing some reluctance or controversy in participation.
4) Indifferent type: This position shows high or moderate levels of understanding, but little interest in participation (e.g., due to economic concern, doubt or cynicism).
5) Ignorant/Confused type: This position shows low or moderate levels of understanding and participation (e.g., democracy is understood equal to free capitalism).

Significance
Through the situational analysis approach, this study analyzed the narratives from four adult North Korean refugees resettled in the US regarding their sociocultural learning experiences of understanding democracy. This study suggests five prototypes that show a variation of political socialization of North Korean refugees. Such variation is a significant evidence to reconcile the immigrants’ political socialization debate upon persistence perspective vs. lifelong openness perspective (Bilodeau, McAllister, & Kanji, 2010).


References

Armstrong, C. (2011). Trends in the Study of North Korea. The Journal of Asian
Studies, 70(2), 357-371.
Bilodeau, A., McAllister, I., & Kanji, M. (2010). Adaptation to Democracy among
immigrants in Australia. International Political Science Review, 31(2), 141-165.
Clarke, E. A. (2003). Situational analyses: Grounded theory mapping after the postmodern turn. Symbolic Interaction, 26(4), 553-576.
Cohen, R. (2014). China’s forced repatriation of North Korean refugees incurs United Nations
Censure. International Journal of Korean Studies, XVIII(1), 59-90.
Ivic, I. (1994). Lev S. Vygotsky, Prospects: The quarterly review of comparative education,
XXIV(3/4), 471–485, Paris, UNESCO: International Bureau of Education.
Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in
Education and the Social Sciences (4th ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Appendixes


Figure 2. Ordered situational map. North Korea refugees' experiences from North Korea to the United States and their sociocultural knowledge acquisition about democracy


Figure 3. Social worlds/arena map for North Korean refugees' experiences from the oppressive worlds to the democratic worlds (i.e., top themes about the US, the bottom themes about South Korea).


Figure 4. Positional map showing the relationship between the levels of North Korean refugees' sociocultural understanding of democracy and levels of interest on democracy/ democratic participation.

Author

• Jungwon Kim, UCLA