The purpose of this study is to obtain understanding of coordinators working for students who defected from North Korea for study and guidance at the South Korean educational arena. The focus of this study is to closely examine the coordinator's roles... The purpose of this study is to obtain understanding of coordinators working for students who defected from North Korea for study and guidance at the South Korean educational arena. The focus of this study is to closely examine the coordinator's roles, adaptation and growth process as an instructor. As of July, 2013, the total number of North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea has reached 25,431. More school-age young defectors are arriving as family defectors' entry are increasing these days. It is estimated about 2,500 North Korean born defector students are living in South Korea as of July, 2013. In September 2009 under the auspices of Ministry of Education, Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI) established Educational Support Center for North Korean Born Youth. In 2011 Coordinators in full charge of those North Korean born students have been recruited for supporting both students and their parents. Duties and roles include student-parental counselling, academic support, guidance for campus life and cultural exchange including irregularity case managements. These coordinators are all North Korean born and already qualified teachers from North Korea. 60 hours of training at NK Teacher Academy and mastery of secondary languages like Chinese are essential requirements before being stationed at the South Korean schools. It is expected these North Korean born coordinators should have deeper understandings towards those young North Korean born students so that they would provide with far better support. Unlike regular South Korean teachers NK coordinators experienced teaching North Korean students under the same educational system and life style which relatively similar to those North Korean born youth has enjoyed. Research result is as in the following. First, the number of specialized coordinators for North Korean students, selected and disposed at schools, is 14 -excluding 1 from originally from South Korea -as of October 2013. Being former teachers in North Korea, they had a social position and honor as a ‘professional revolutionist’ with a responsibility of North Korean education. After their entry to South Korea, they intended an educators’ life in South Korea with their former career, expecting to get recognition and acquire a fair social position, pride, and job security, although they had already taken lower jobs. Their conditions of employment and roles vary depending on each school, but it is common that they are carrying out a function of connecting South and North Koreans in and out of schools, not just supporting North Korean defector students; they support students’ learning; guide students’ school lives with counseling and advise; consult North Korean parents of the students; and run programs in cooperation with other local institutes. Second, the conditions of employment and positions as an educator at school did not actually meet the coordinators’ expectation at first. However they were complementing their feeling of loss from their work with sense of duty to help out North Korean students’ prompt settlement and growth in a right way. They are having difficulty with unclear responsibilities and performances, especially with using NICE or EDUPI, work portal sites. They are also suffering for difference of educational cultures and languages in co-working relations, students, and administration. Particularly, as there is nothing prepared for students who do not know Korean language with third country background, it is hard for them to prepare all the education guidance and materials by themselves in other language. Furthermore, they have distress in consulting and home visit, because the students and parents reluctant to disclose their identities. They are trying really hard to overcome difficulties by asking for help to co-working coordinators or other teachers. With all the above difficulties, they are growing to achieve their goal in teaching through the coordinator project, supporting North Korean students in study and daily life with a sense of duty to raise human resources for post-unification. Third, specialized coordinators for defecting students from North Korea are getting recognition of North Korean students as a successful role model in South Korea, and they are carrying out positive function of motivating North Korean students in study and daily life, and the coordinators are keeping hope to become a member and a true citizen of South Korean society, and create relationship with South Koreans for mutual assistance. The project on coordinators were launched with a purpose to relieve North Korean students’ psychological and emotional insecurity for better adaptation in school life, and to consider employment chance of former North Korean teachers and explore their potential ability. However considering the result that was found from this research, it is important not only for a microscopic reason of practical use of assistant teachers for supporting North Korean students, but also for a macroscopic reason of support on human resources that can ready for post-unification era with understanding in North and South Korean educational culture and system. For these purposes, the coordinator project needs improvement towards a change into a future-oriented system on unification education, and a new training project preparing integrated education for post-unification era.
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