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Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Anthropology

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Anthropology

First Advisor

Yu, Yeon Jung

Second Advisor

Pine, Judith M. S.

Third Advisor

Park, Young su

Abstract

Refugee populations fled their country of origin to escape violence, poverty, or persecution. North Korean refugees are no exception, evident by the reports of famine, economic inequality, and human rights violations in correctional labor camps. The North Korean correctional labor camps have been compared to Gulags, but the existence of these prisons has not been confirmed by the United Nations. An empirical study which detailed the daily environment and experiences in these camps was needed. However, literature also revealed a need for narrative of agency in refugee populations. Drawn upon the content analysis of transcribed interviews with North Korean refugees (N=34), I argue that the social suffering of North Korean prisoners’ bare life promoted the formation of social networks in and out of the prison. The interviews were translated from Korean to English using DeepL, and 1000+ pages were uploaded to Atlas.ti 24.2.1 for analysis. Based on the interviews, bare life was evident by the harsh environment and working conditions. Additionally, a dependence on social networks was required to survive the prison environment. This dependence on networks challenged the notion of self-reliance, a foundation to North Korea’s dominant political ideology called the Juche. This created a counter-hegemony to the Juche philosophy and manifested in prisoners’ behaviors as hidden transcripts. Global and gendered health implications are discussed in relation to the study’s findings.

Type

Text

Keywords

North Korea, North Korean Refugees, North Korean Correctional Labor Camps, refugees, healthcare systems, prison health, cold war, Juche Philosophy, Bare death, necropolitics

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1523694442

Subject – LCSH

Refugees--Abuse of--Korea (North); Prisoners--Abuse of--Korea (North); Refugees--Social networks--Korea (North); Prisoners--Social networks--Korea (North); Refugees--Medical care--Korea (North); Prisoners--Medical care--Korea (North); Refugees--Korea (North)--Social conditions; Prisoners--Korea (North)--Social conditions; Labor camps--Korea (North); Refugees--Korea (North)--Interviews; Juche; Religion and politics--Korea (North); Self-reliance--Korea (North)

Geographic Coverage

Korea (North)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

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