Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2012
Abstract
Thirty North Korean defectors were interviewed and asked to share happy memories from across their lifetimes. A "disintegrative" photo-album technique was used to facilitate rich descriptions while reducing pressure for narrative consistency. Eight narrative voices were identified: four master cultural narratives and four personal narrative constructions. Nineteen respondents initially reported life segments devoid of happy memories but each discovered "hidden happinesses" in response to simple reconsideration prompts from the interviewer. Hidden happinesses were primarily narrated in personal voice, with positive correlation found between hidden happiness discovery and time interval between leaving North Korea and arriving in South Korea. A grounded theory is proposed that exposure to relationships outside the dominant master cultural narrative correlates positively with propensity for the discovery of durable "broaden and build" narrative resources (Fredrickson, 1998:307) for respondents' "going on" (Wittgenstein, 1953), and that such resources may be actuated through disintegrative narrative inquiry. A new framework for refugee management is discussed that replaces assimilative approaches with exposure to third culture perspectives and discovery of happy memories from all segments of a defector's life. Proposal is made to redefine McAdam's (2006) generativity as a predicate of relationships rather than individuals.
Keywords
North Korean defector, happy memories, master narrative, life story, refugee management
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Foley, Eric P., "The Happy Memories Of North Korean Defectors: Discovering Personal Narratives Of Hidden Happiness Through Disintegrative Inquiry" (2012). Student Scholarship. 450.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/450