Strategic Use of ICTs among North Korean Women Resettled in South Korea

Kang, Juhee, Ling, Richard and Chib, Arul, "Strategic Use of ICTs among North Korean Women Resettled in South Korea" ICTD '17: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development, Lahore, 2017/11/16-19.

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Conference Publication
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UNU in Macau Conference Papers

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  • Sub-type Conference paper
    Author Kang, Juhee
    Ling, Richard
    Chib, Arul
    Title Strategic Use of ICTs among North Korean Women Resettled in South Korea
    Event Series International Conference on Information & Communication Technologies and Development
    Publication Date 2017-11-19
    Place of Publication New York
    Publisher ACM
    Pages 4
    Title of Event ICTD '17: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development
    Date of Event 2017/11/16-19
    Place of Event Lahore
    Language eng
    Abstract This study analyzes the migratory experiences of North Korean women who crossed the Sino-Korean border and found their way into South Korea. Transposed from the world's most digitally-disconnected societies to one of the most digitally-oriented societies, these North Korean migrants make an interesting case for scholars in the field of ICTs for Development (ICTD) regarding the role of ICTs in the course of their escape and resettlement. Based on qualitative interviews with North Korean women settled in South Korea, this study analyzes the extent to which mobile phones facilitate their resettlement process. We found that North Korean migrants use ICTs strategically to avoid direct interaction with South Koreans by hiding behind computer-mediated communications. ICTs assisted their strategic use by enabling their behaviors of 1) seeking help online anonymously; 2) hiding their identity via text-based communications; 3) managing a manipulated identity on social media. Consequently, this can lead to further segregating themselves from the host society. The paper argues that empowering migrants via ICTs is not a sufficient condition and further efforts should be made to change how the host society embraces new settlers.
    UNBIS Thesaurus RESETTLEMENT
    DISCRIMINATION
    MIGRANTS
    DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
    Keyword Reunification
    Defectors
    ICT
    Mobile phones
    Social stigma
    Copyright Holder ACM
    Copyright Year 2017
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISBN 9781450352772
    DOI 10.1145/3136560.3136590
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    Created: Thu, 22 Feb 2018, 12:53:16 JST by Marcovecchio, Ignacio on behalf of UNU CS