탈북청소년의 한국사회 적응과정의 문제점과 해결방안

The problems and solutions in the adjustment of North Korean refugee youths to South Korean Society

이 글은 탈북청소년들의 한국사회 적응에 있어서 문제가 되는 요인 들과 그 해결방안들을 살펴보았다. 탈북청소년들은 심리적으로는 우울 증상과 불안증상, 외상 후 스트레스 장애, 그리고 정체성의 혼란을 겪고 있다. 그들은 또한 학교 교육에서 연령 격차와 문화 격차라고 하는 이중격차로 인하여 학업을 제대로 따라가지 못할 뿐만 아니라 또래관 계도 잘 형성하지 못한다. 사회문화적인 측면에서는 북한과 탈북민에 대한 사회 전반적인 부정적 인식으로 인해 차별받고 있다. 탈북청소년 들은 한국사회 적응 속도와 관련한 가족 내부의 세대 갈등을 겪기도 한다.지원정책에 있어서는 탈북청소년들의 교육을 담당하는 각 부처가 긴밀히 연결되지 못함으로써 비효율성이 드러나고 있다. 탈북청소년 들이 겪는 문제점을 해결하기 위해서는 지속적인 상담과 치료를 제공 해야 한다. 학교에서의 적응을 위해서는 대안교육의 기회와 여건이 확대되고, 교사·또래의 지지가 충분히 이루어질 필요가 있다. 정부 차원에서는 지원체계를 개선하여 정책의 효율성을 높여야 할 것이다. 탈북청소년의 적응을 돕는 지역사회의 역할 강화, 그리고 탈북자에 대한 국민인식의 획기적 개선이 가장 중요하다. 탈북청소년들을 다른 다양한 이주배경 청소년들과 함께 교육적으로 지원하기 위해서는 통일부 일각과 탈북민단체의 반다문화정서를 먼저 불식시켜야 한다.

Even though the total number of North Korean refugees in South Korea surpassed 28,000 in May 2015, NK refugee youths are still facing many problems in adjusting to South Korean Society. So this study aimed to search for the problems and solutions in the adjustment of NK refugee youths to South Korean Society. They have been experiencing psychological depressions and anxieties, post-traumatic stresses, and confusions in their identities. They also have had difficulty in creating peer relations at their schools because of the double gaps, the one of which is the difference in their ages from their peer students, the other of which is the cultural difference between South and North Korea. Many of them have dropped out of their schools and have taken school qualification examinations because they could not come up with their lessons. For they had learned badly at their schools in North Korea since the Great Famine since mid-1990s, and many of them had stayed for several years in China and the other third states without school. Socio-culturally they suffer from the negative attitudes of South Koreans toward North Korean refugees. Furthermore, NK refugee youths have such difficulty in communicating with their parents because there is a time gap between them in adjusting to South Korean Society. It is not easy for them to have conversations with South Korean friends because there are big differences in the way of thinking and expressing their emotion and thoughts. Several ministries are involved in teaching and supporting NK refugee youths, but they do not cooperate with each other very well. As for the solutions in the adjustment of NK refugee youths to South Korean society, continuous psychological counseling and medical care should be provided to them. The opportunities of alternative education should also be extended for them. Social supports network for NK refugee youths, which are consisted of their teachers and peer groups, should be built as well. At the level of local community, good programs helping NK refugee youths to adjust socio-culturally to South Korean society should be developed and provided for them. The government has to improve the effectiveness of NK refugge youths support policy by establishing the cooperative system between ministries being involved in that policy.