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KMID : 0904520070210010065
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Health and Medical Sociology
2007 Volume.21 No. 1 p.65 ~ p.96
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Relationships Between Health and Economic Adaptation of North Korean Migrants
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Yoon In-Jin
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Abstract
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This study examines the effects of health status of North Korean migrants on their economic adaptation. Previous research on health status and illness of North Korean migrants has relied on small or convenient samples and thus its findings are difficult to generalize to the North Korean migrants population. To overcome this problem, we conducted in July through September, 2005 a large sample survey of 1,336 North Korean migrants ages 13 and older in South Korea with the help of the Ministry of National Unification and local social service centers. Also, in contrast to previous research that did not look at the relationship between health and economic adaptation, this study analyzes how individual health status affects his or her economic adaptation
The results show that 35.5% of the respondents referred to their poor health as the main reason for unemployment. The majority of the respondents also mentioned health problems as one of the three most serious problems they face in South Korea. Similarly, they attributed their lack of will to work to health problems as well as South Korean residents’ prejudice against North Korean migrants. Thus, health problems reduce their will to work, lower their chance of employment, and hinder their social adaptation. In a logistic regression analysis that examines the independent effect of health status after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, poor health is found to increase significantly the chance of relying on government subsidy
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KEYWORD
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North Korean Defecting Residents, North Korean Migrants, Health, Illness, Economic Adaptation, Social Adaptation
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