Work

Transnational householding under authoritarian constraints: Kinship-based social control, migration strategies, and household reconfiguration in Kim Jong Un’s North Korea

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article examines family migration from North Korea, analyzing how migration strategies emerge from the interaction between intensified social control under Kim Jong Un and transnational householding. Drawing on interviews with 61 North Korean migrants who left between 2018 and 2020 and resettled in South Korea, it argues that households used gendered sequencing, staggered departures, and selective household reconfiguration to manage cross-border risk. These strategies were constrained by kinship-based systems of social classification and collective punishment. By centering the household, the article shows how family ties facilitate cross-border mobility while serving as a mechanism through which the state exercises control.

Source: Asian and Pacific migration journal

DOI: 10.1177/01171968261477011

Author: Eunyoung Christina Choi

Institution: Ewha Womans University

Language: English

Topic: Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Seoul National University