An Autoethnography of a Teacher’s Efforts for the Children of North Korean Defectors

Abstract

With regard to immigration, the migrants that reflect the uniqueness of the South Korean context are North Korean defectors. The Ministry of Education established the "Education Support Project for North Korean Defector Students" in response to the increased number of North Korean defectors and their children in South Korean classrooms. Since the mid-2000s, each public school has been allocated funds to conduct a project for students identified as North Korean defectors or their children. This study examines the educational practices of an elementary school teacher who is on the front lines of implementing educational agendas, as well as the challenges that arise as a result of structural constraints. As a teacher-researcher, drawing on autoethnography by borrowing Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and symbolic violence as the theoretical lens, I illustrate the invisible structural constraints inherent in educational practices with respect to the children of North Korean defectors. This paper also explores how caring teachers might be victimized in public education as well as how the educational practices are transformed into individualized caring activities. By critically reflecting on such personal educational experiences, the researcher attempts to call into question the educational practices that many teachers take for granted.