Stories Left Unsaid: Navigating Stigmatized Identity Disclosure and Storytelling Among North Korean Defector Mothers

Paper Title

Stories Left Unsaid: Navigating Stigmatized Identity Disclosure and Storytelling Among North Korean Defector Mothers

Publication Info

• Topic area: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and sociotechnical systems in stigmatized identity disclosure.
• Keywords: North Korean defectors, motherhood, identity disclosure, storytelling, stigma, digital media, sociotechnical systems, family dynamics, narrative agency, HCI.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: North Korean defector mothers face significant challenges in disclosing their background to their South Korea-born children due to pervasive stigma, reductive digital portrayals of North Korea, and the absence of storytelling resources.
• Significance: Understanding how stigmatized identity disclosure impacts familial relationships is critical for designing technologies that support marginalized populations in navigating complex sociotechnical environments.
• Motivation and related work: Prior research has explored disclosure in stigmatized contexts like HIV, mental illness, and incarceration, but little attention has been given to mothers with politically erased pasts, such as North Korean defectors. This study addresses the gap by examining how digital media influences disclosure decisions and familial dynamics.

Solution

• Proposed approach: The study investigates how NKD mothers navigate identity disclosure and storytelling with their children, proposing design directions for technologies that support narrative agency, silence, and emotionally safe sharing.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical insights into NKD mothers’ disclosure challenges shaped by stigma and digital saturation.
  2. Extension of disclosure literature to emphasize sociotechnical factors disrupting narrative agency.
  3. Design directions for storytelling technologies that empower mothers through gradual disclosure, silence, and community-based support.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 NKD mothers in South Korea.
  • Used reflective thematic analysis to identify themes related to disclosure dilemmas, sociotechnical constraints, and storytelling strategies.
  • Developed a three-phase disclosure process model and proposed design implications for storytelling technologies.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Only 8 of 22 mothers disclosed their background to their children; 6 voluntarily and 2 reactively.
  • Digital media exposure disrupted planned disclosure, with children forming negative impressions of North Korea from online portrayals.
  • Mothers lacked resources for meaningful storytelling, relying on verbal descriptions or satellite maps.
• Advantage over baselines: The study uniquely highlights the role of sociotechnical systems in shaping disclosure dynamics and proposes design solutions tailored to NKD mothers’ needs.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Interviews spanned 20 hours, conducted in Korean, and analyzed using thematic coding.
  • Participants were recruited through an NGO and snowball sampling, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Limited to NKD mothers; future work should include fathers and broader family dynamics.
  • Further research needed on how children’s maturity influences disclosure outcomes and narrative agency.

Summary

This study explores how North Korean defector mothers navigate the complex process of disclosing their background to South Korea-born children in a digitally saturated society. Findings reveal that digital portrayals of North Korea disrupt maternal narrative control, forcing reactive disclosure and shaping children’s biases. The absence of storytelling resources further complicates the process, leaving mothers unable to share their histories meaningfully. The study proposes design directions for technologies that support narrative agency, silence, and peer-informed storytelling, offering insights into how sociotechnical systems can empower families navigating stigma. Future research should examine long-term disclosure dynamics and broader family contexts.