The purpose of this study is to find out the difficulties and lifelong education experiences of North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City in the process of adapting to the community and to investigate the role of lifelong education experience in the process of adaptation to the community of North Korean defectors. In order to achieve this purpose, the following research questions were established. First, What difficulties did North Korean defectors experience in the process of adapting to the local community? Second, what is the lifelong education experience of North Korean defectors? Two research questions were selected. Ten North Korean defectors in their 30s or early 50s were selected as research subjects among the participants in the study who had entered South Korea and lived in Gwangju Metropolitan City for more than 6 years. This study was conducted as a qualitative research method, and in-depth interviews were conducted from January to September 2022. According to Giorgi's data analysis method, 37 meaning units were derived from difficulties of North Korean defectors in the process of adapting to the community and 30 meaning units from their lifelong education experiences of North Korean defectors, by repeatedly reading the interviews of the research participants to find out important elements in the researcher's academic perspective and practical process, focusing on the part where meanings change in their experience and psychological state. The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City have experienced difficulties due to linguistic and cultural differences in the process of adapting to the community, but they formed a continuous and close relationship with their same learners, instructors, and professors in the lifelong education field to learn and understand language and culture naturally. Second, North Korean defectors suffered from the prejudice that they were social welfare beneficiary from local residents in the process of adapting to Gwangju Metropolitan City, by getting job with licenses acquired through lifelong education, they became taxpayer at work, not beneficiary of social welfare, and their pride as citizen of the Republic of Korea increased. Third, North Korean defectors who felt like strangers in the community suffered psychological difficulties caused by loneliness in a foreign country in the early days of settlement and memories of the process of escaping from North Korea. Through lifelong education, North Korean defectors have grown into healthy citizens of Gwangju Metropolitan City, R.O.K, who live a life of service by adapting to Korean culture, being recognized as Koreans, and recovering their self-esteem. Fourth, most of the North Korean defectors went to university to adapt to the local community of South Korean society, and acquired new licenses necessary for employment, acquiring Diploma and certificates required in South Korean society. Fifth, lifelong education experienced by parents in the process of adapting to the local community played a role in preparing for the successful adaptation of North Korean defectors' children to the local community. Finally, I’ like to propose a lifelong education program for North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City. First, it is necessary to have a counseling program on emotional anxiety and trauma caused by defection, which is the biggest feature of North Korean defectors. Counselors from North Korean defectors who can understand the special situation of North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City and embrace the problems they face are needed. Second, it is necessary to carry out lifelong education programs that can be participated in as a family unit according to mid- to long-term plans demanded survey and analysis for lifelong education programs for North Korean refugees living in Gwangju Metropolitan City rather than a one-time cultural experience event. Third, it is necessary to provide one-to-one customized lifelong education for the children of North Korean defectors, tailored to their home environment and individual characteristics. This study is meaningful in that it examined that North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City are adapting to the local community and living smoothly through lifelong education, there were many difficulties in the early process of settling into the community according to in-depth interviews on lifelong education experiences. The results obtained through this study will be used as basic data necessary for the development of lifelong education programs and the role of realistic and effective lifelong education for community integration of North Korean defectors living in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

"제1장 서론 1
제1절 연구의 필요성및 목적 1
제2절 연구문제 4
제3절 용어의 정의 5

제2장 이론적 배경 7
제1절 북한이탈주민과 사회적 지원정책 7
1. 북한이탈주민에 대한 이해 7
2. 북한이탈주민에 대한 정착지원 11
제2절 북한이탈주민의 지역사회적응 19
1. 이주민의 사회적응 20
2. 북한이탈주민의 지역사회적응 24
제3절 북한이탈주민 대상 평생교육 29
1. 국가 북한이탈주민 대상 평생교육 29
2. 광주광역시 북한이탈주민 대상 평생교육 34

제3장 연구 방법 36
제1절 연구 대상 36
1. 연구 참여자 선정 36
2. 연구 참여자 특성 38
3. 연구 참여자 윤리적 고려 44
제2절 자료 수집과 분석 방법 45
1. 자료 수집 45
2. 자료 분석 방법 46
제3절 연구 결과의 타당성과 신뢰성 47

제4장 연구 결과 48
제1절 북한이탈주민의 지역사회적응 50
1. 지역사회적응 과정의 어려움 50
제2절 북한이탈주민의 평생교육 경험 65
1. 남한 사회에서 살아가기 위한 새로운 배움 67
2. 새로운 직업을 위한 배움 69
3. 지역주민과 관계 형성 차원의 평생교육 70
4. 자녀교육을 위한 배움 72
5. 평생교육을 통해 품은 꿈 74
6. 여가활동을 위한 평생교육 75

제5장 논의 및 결론 77
제1절 논의 77
제2절 결론 83

참고문헌 88

국문초록 96

연구 참여 동의서 98"