From Heroes to Helpless Refugees: A CDA of The Representation of North Korean Refugees in South Korean Law

Sammanfattning: The dictator ruled North Korea is not a country many North Koreans chose to live in voluntarily. Thousands of North Koreans must endure starvation, public executions, prison camps, rape, and numerous other human rights abuses daily. As a result, many choose to flee the country, hoping for a better and safer life in South Korea. This paper investigates how North Korean refugees are represented in the current North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act and its Enforcement Decree Act. This study aims to examine the changes made to the Acts that are relevant to the representation of North Korean refugees in South Korea. I examine the Acts with Critical Discourse Analysis and Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Model of Discourse. The results suggest that the Acts contribute to the negative perception of North Korean refugees by some South Korean nationals. Unstable inter-Korean relations enhance these negative attitudes.