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inquired into (2) North Korean refugee women’s understanding of human rights during
the period of sojourn in China and other third countries as well as their situation
regarding human rights abuses arising in the course of migration subsequent to their
flight from North Korea, sexual harassment and sexual violence brought about by
human trafficking, sexual exploitation, coercive crackdowns and punishment,
investigations and punishment following forced repatriation, treatment of pregnant
women, human rights violations committed by ‘brokers’ and other related
organizations, etc. Moreover, we (3) studied as cases of human rights violations in
South Korea the investigations and resettlement education upon entry, infringements
of human rights in the course of providing resettlement support, social and sexual
discrimination in the context of employment and labour, etc., sexual harassment and
sexual violence, domestic violence, etc.
3) Understanding the structure and developmental dynamics of human
rights violations against North Korean refugee women
We inquired into the structure and the developmental dynamics of human rights
violations in their political, economic, social, and cultural contexts and undertook to
analyze what interrelations exist between these contexts and the cases of human
rights violations we studied. To this end, we examined (1) how human rights violations
emerge in daily life, in what ways they are dealt with (punishment, concealment,
acquiescence, collusion) and appear as injuries. (2) We analyzed the main contents of
human rights violations arising in North Korea, in China and other third countries, in
South Korea, and in the course of women’s other movements as well as their
differences and similarities distinguished by type, specificity, and space. We also tried
to grasp the insecure legal and institutional position that North Korean refugee women
find themselves in as well as the relative sense of social exclusion and marginalization
experienced by these women. Finally, (3) we aimed at understanding, on a
psychological level, North Korean refugee women’s psychological responses to human
rights violations, the depth and durability of psychological injuries subsequent to