Global Aspirations, Domestic Choices: South Korean Youth Pursuing Domestic Pathways

Abstract

Contrary to past studies focusing on the global aspirations of students already studying abroad, our study seeks to explore whether and how academic elite Korean youth with little to no experience and plans to study abroad pursuing domestic pathways engage with globalization narratives as they negotiate their choices. Based on in-depth interviews with 17 Korean college students sampled from a larger survey, we found that they held strong aspirations for international credentials and global flexible lifestyles, which were unambiguously perceived as highly desirable. However, they still chose domestic pathways which were practical and offered increasing opportunities with Korea’s rapid development. Our interviewees’ global aspirations influenced their domestic pursuit of upward mobility and self-realization as they simultaneously sought ways to upgrade their credentials while reconstructing their career choice narratives to emulate the elusive but flexible lifestyles they imagined to belong to the developed world community.