Objective: The purpose of this study was to learn from Korean female defectors about their views of child-rearing experiences in South Korea. This study explored how 7 North Korean female defectors with young children developed child-rearing microideologies that acknowledge both North Korean cultural ideology and South Korean cultural ideology.

Methods: To examine North Korean female defectors’ child-rearing experiences, indepth interviews with 7 North Korean female defectors with young children were conducted.

Results: Four theme clusters, 11 themes, and 47 meanings were found from a phenomenological analysis with indepth interview data. Based on the themes, three types of child-rearing microideologies were identified: (1) separation,(2) assimilation, and (3) integration. Each type of child-rearing microideology can be understood with a meaningful phrase“there is no choice”, “nevertheless” and “because I came here to be better,” respectively.

Conclusion/Implications: This study provides knowledge on the individual- specified child-rearing strategy of North Korean female defectors with young children and suggests the necessity of diverse policy proposals based on the child-rearing microideology types.