Abstract

Purpose: According to the statistics announced by the Ministry of Unification, the number of North Korean refugees living in South Korea has increased by 200 on average monthly in 2010. The number of refugees increased only by 300 annually until 2000. The total number of refugees as of February 2012 was 20,956. This study aims to investigate the psychobiology of the North Korean refugees who consulted psychiatric clinics among those living daily life in South Korea. Methods: The subjects of this study were 85 North Korean refugees that consulted psychiatric clinics from January 1, 2005 to July 2011. This study obtained demographic and psychiatric information in a retrospective approach. Results: Among the 85 North Korean refugees, 75 (88.2%) were females and their average age was 48 years of age. A total of 16 (18.8%) were admitted to a clinic and among the inpatients, 4 were admitted twice and two were admitted three times. As for the claimed symptoms of outpatients, insomnia was shown in 47 (55.3%) patients, headaches in 37 (43.5%), anxiety in 20 (23.5%), depression in 19 (22.4%), etc. The major symptoms represented by inpatients were insomnia in 14 (87.5%) patients, depression in 12 (75%), and headaches in 8 (50%), etc. Conclusion: The most frequent psychiatric symptoms of North Korean refugees living in South Korea were insomnia and headaches. It suggests that when performing psychiatric diagnosis and treatment of North Korean refugees, we have to take into consideration the fact that they claimed the physical symptoms more than the emotional ones. Also, from the aspect that most symptoms of North Korean refugees were insomnia, more profound research on sleep is required in the future.

목 적 : 본 연구에서는 이미 정착하여 일상 생활을 하고 있는 북한이탈주민들 중 정신과 진료를 받은 환자들을 대상으로 정신생리를 고찰하고자 하였다. 방 법 : 본 연구는 2005년 1월 1일부터 2011년 7월까지 정신과를 내원한 북한이탈주민 환자 85명을 대상으로 후향적으로 인구학적 정보 및 정신과적 정보를 획득하였다. 결 과 : 85명의 북한이탈주민 중 75명(88.2%)이 여자였으며, 평균연령은 48세였다. 외래에서 주로 호소한 증상으로는 불면 47명(55.3%), 두통 37명(43.5%), 불안감 20명(23.5%), 우울감 19명(22.4%) 등이었으며, 입원시 주된 증상은 불면 14명(87.5%), 우울감 12명(75%), 두통 8명(50%) 등이었다. 결 론 : 국내에 입국해서 생활하고 있는 북한이탈주민들이 가장 많이 호소하는 정신과적 증상은 불면, 두통 등으로 나타났다. 향후 북한이탈주민들을 정신과적 평가 및 치료함에 있어서 정서적 호소보다 신체적 증상을 더 많이 호소하는 특징을 고려하여야 함을 시사한다. 또한 북한이탈주민들의 가장 많은 증상이 불면이었다는 점에서 향후 이들을 대상으로 수면에 대한 심도 있는 연구가 이루어야 할 것이다.

Keywords

• North Korean refugees;
• Sleep;
• Depression;
• Physical illness

• 북한이탈주민;
• 수면;
• 우울;
• 신체질환;