Moving Outside of the Hermit Kingdom: Policies & Programs that Aid North Korean Adolescent Refugees in South Korean Alternative High Schools

Abstract

Currently, there are over 20,000 North Korean refugees in South Korea with at least 2,000 entering each year. North Koreans hope to experience freedom and comfort in their new home but tend to find only poverty and discrimination. With growing public dissent towards unification, policy makers have turned to adolescent refugees’ education in hopes of refuting South Koreans’ negative stereotypes as well as to nurture the future leaders of unification . As a result, several groups outside of the government have opened alternative schools that cater to these young refugees. After conducting interviews with sixteen refugee students and six teachers/school administrators, this study will identify as well as analyze policies and programs that aid North Korean refugees in being academically and acculturatively successful.