Language learning as a site for belonging: a narrative analysis of Korean adoptee-returnees

Abstract

Through analyzing narratives of Korean heritage language (HL) users, this article explores whether and to what degree these language users experience social inclusion and a sense of belonging in Korean society. We expand the field of HL research by investigating the experiences of four Korean-born, US-raised adoptee-returnees who currently reside in Seoul, South Korea and speak Korean as an additional language. We employ ethnographically-informed narrative inquiry by drawing on interviews, observations, and the personal experience of the second author (a member of this community) to explore how adoptee-returnees’ learning of Korean as a HL affects their settlement success, social recognition, and sense of ethnic and cultural belonging in the country of their birth. The participants’ narratives show that they feel distanced by Korean citizens in daily interactions, and that they connect more closely with people on the margins of Korean society, including other Korean adoptees. Despite this apparent lack of social inclusion, adoptee-returnees do claim belonging through their participation in the third place of the adoptee-returnee social network in Seoul in a myriad of ways.