UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Regardless of the things that make people different, there is one thing we all have in common. We all are human beings and we all deserve to be happy. This philosophy is the driving force behind doctoral candidate Jinhee Choi's interest in researching the experiences of North Korean defectors living in South Korea.
"I want to study how North Korean defectors learn to adjust to their life in the workplace, specifically in the cafe setting," said Choi, who is entering her fourth year in Penn State's Lifelong Learning and Adult Education program. "I want to look at how they adjust but also how their past experiences shape their current work experience, and how they learn to develop their commitment to work and social relationships."
Choi decided that the only way to understand these experiences was to work side-by-side with defectors as a peer. In 2016 through her contacts in South Korea, she was hired to work as a barista at two coffee shops alongside North Korean defectors. During her two months of work, she began exploring ideas that have become the foundation of her dissertation research.
During her first week on the job, she said she quickly learned what her coworkers expected from her.
“I was scolded by the North Korean baristas very frequently due to my relatively slow work speed and less-than-perfect barista skills,” she said, admitting that she often thought about quitting as a result of the heavy workload and harsh treatment she received from her coworkers. But then, she recognized that their behaviors were influenced by their past experiences and treatment in the workplace.
"I realized that the way they treated me reflected their past workplace experiences and social relationships in North Korea, China and South Korea," Choi said. "It wasn’t really a personal attack; they treated me the same way they had been treated by others."