Living in a Consumer Society: Adaptation Experiences of North Korean Youth Defectors in South Korea2

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the adaptation experiences of North Korean youth defectors as consumers in South Korea. Collecting data from in-depth, face-to-face interviews, this study examined how seventeen North Korean youth defectors aged 19-26 years felt about their daily life as consumers. Qualitative content analysis revealed that the main sources of difficulties that the young defectors experienced while living in a consumer society had to do with their disillusionment with the "Korean dream," unfamiliarity with the market environment, perceptions of discrimination, confusion with the consumer culture, and the pressure to keep up with their South Korean peers. Based on these findings, the study identified the challenges that interfere with North Korean defectors' successful adaptation as consumers and proposed some practical implications.

Motivational Orientation and Brand Familiarity: Positive Emotions and Skepticism toward Online Advertising Using the English Language

“…In contrast, English prevention-orientated individuals search for information in a more local manner and center negative feelings, which may infer their discomfort with or resistance to an L2 (Sohn, 2013). Therefore, promotion orientation related to English can be seen as being congruent with an individual's preferred end-state outcome.…”

“…When exposed to online video advertisements in a foreign language, consumers usually appraise the information first and tend to generate skepticism if there is insufficient information, or if they are unfamiliar with the foreign language (Zhang & Schmitt, 2004;Sohn, 2013). L2 advertisements may cause individuals to spend more time processing the information as they need to process the ad contents as well as the brand and the foreign language (Luna & Peracchio, 2005).…”

“…Skepticism is a significant predictor of cognition (Peytcheva, 2013). For example, people who could not use foreign languages such as English can be distrustful and skeptical of the information in a foreign language or second language (L2) (Sohn, 2013). As for affect, positive emotion is a core variable for popular employer branding (Rampl & Kenning, 2013).…”

Self-Employment Among North Korean Migrants

“…Due to the lack of knowledge, many defectors lack the competence to manage money, or make savings from their incomes. As a result, many have become confused and distrustful (Sohn 2013).…”

Public opinion, social cohesion, and the politics of immigration in South Korea

“…One group of studies, which adopt the migrant perspective, suggest that the South Korean public has not been sympathetic to the difficulties that migrants face in integrating into their new society. North Korean refugees struggle to adapt to life in the ROK (Cho, 2012); have low income levels and job prospects (Bidet, 2013;Sohn, 2013); and endure poor physical health and discrimination (Jeong & Chae, 2014;Sung & Go, 2014). About 20% of ethnic Korean-Chinese migrants, meanwhile, said that they were not easily accepted in South Korea; that they were subjected to suspicion and hostility for being foreigners; and that they were insulted for no clear reason (Seol & Skrentny, 2009, pp.…”