classmates, it usually places refugees into classrooms of much younger students.x Difficulties forging friendships with other students and differences in educational content and pedagogy have also been proposed as explanations for low achievement. Amongst all these explanations, perhaps the most likely is a combination of all these factors added to the stress of assimilating to a new society. Mental health problems of refugees are yet another barrier to adjustment to life in South Korea. Importantly, mental illness has a direct influence on refugees’ ability to successfully settle in their new environment (Blair, 2000, as cited in Jeon et al., 2005). Traumatic experiences while living in North Korea, such as witnessing public executions, watching family members die of starvation, or serving a sentence in a labor camp, may lead to anxiety or mood disorders (Jeon et al., 2009). Fearful and anxiety-causing situations during defection, such as living in hiding in Chinaxi, may also contribute to stress-disorders. Disaster research has shown that affected populations may show major mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosomatic syndromes, suicide attempts, and violence (Jeon et al., 2009). In addition to previous instances of traumatic stress, refugees also bear the burden of significant mental stress from adjusting to life in a different society. In a study of refugees who had lived in Korea for at least one year following defection, over 30 percent of both men and women reported symptoms of depressionxii and even more showed signs of severe distressxiii (Jeon et al., 2009). In a separate study (Jeon et al., 2005), 29.5 percent of refugees surveyed were diagnosed with PTSDxiv. Mental illness disorders and behaviors may lead South Koreans to view the refugees as dangerous, helpless, or unpredictable Princeton Journal of East Asian Studies!
(Angermeyer & Dietrich, 2005). South Koreans’ negative attitudes can play a role in the vicious cycle of impaired mental health of refugees and the stress of their new environments (e.g. Kivling-Boden & Sundbon, 2002, as cited in Jeon et al., 2005). The factors discussed in this channel illustrate how failure of refugees to assimilate (for reasons that may be related to life experiences in North Korea, discrimination from South Korean employers and coworkers, or stress of assimilation) can hinder positive attitudes of South Koreans towards refugees. Observers may attribute poor employment or academic record to mere laziness or lack of motivation. Stigmas of mental illness may discourage South Koreans from befriending refugees, for fear that they will be violent or unstable. Most of all, they may stimulate views that North Korean refugees are too different or damaged to be functional members of society. PERCEIVED COST TO SOUTH KOREANS FOR REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT According to Professor Yun In-jin of Korea University, Koreans agree with government refugee aid programs in theory, but oppose them when they must bear the costs and burdens of making them possible (Kim & Jang, 2007). For example, refugee placement into subsidized housing is a program that can affect neighboring South Koreans: areas with high numbers of resettled refugees tend to turn into slums with decreased property value (Kim, 2010). Kangseo, a district of Seoul, is one area where a significant number of refugees are placed. A survey was conducted by the Kangseo District Office to gauge South Korean sentiment regarding this trend. Residents of the area were asked whether they 57!