Psychosocial aspects of Korean reunification: Explicit and implicit national attitudes and identity of South Koreans and North Korean defectors.

Abstract

Two studies investigated the explicit and implicit attitudes toward, and identification with, South and North Korea by a sample of South Koreans and North Koreans who voluntarily defected to the South. North Korean defectors showed (a) more positive evaluations of South Korea on explicit self-report measures, but more favorable evaluations of the North on an implicit measure, and (b) on average, North-South neutral identity on an explicit measure, but stronger self-association with the North on an implicit measure. In contrast, South Koreans indicated consistently positive attitudes toward, and identification with, the South on both explicit and implicit measures. Implications of these findings for Korean unification are discussed.