Abstract
This paper reports on the findings of research into what Korean Australians thought about the process of ‘becoming and being Australian’, drawing on measures of social cohesion and ‘Australianness’. The aim of the research was to find out what Korean Australian migrants valued or were uncomfortable with in relation to multiculturalism and processes of ‘being Australian’, or conformation with ‘Australianness’. Based on in-depth interviews with ten and a survey of 153 members of the Korean migrant community in Sydney, data indicated that social activities and self-perception of identity effectively continue to reflect past Australian policy settings that recognised the importance of multiculturalism as both a community-based policy framework as well as a national social policy. The study found participants highly valued Korean identity, language and community and that bonds to the Korean community, limited English language competency and experiences of racism reinforced the importance of settling into a society that valued multiculturalism.
Highlights
The political histories of multiculturalism policy in Australia and South Korea are significantly different
This paper reports on the findings of research into what Korean Australians thought about the process of ‘becoming and being Australian’, drawing on measures of social cohesion and ‘Australianness’
Drawing on the dominant and historically-informed concept of ‘Australianness’, research reported in this paper provides insights into how some well-settled Korean migrants view being ‘Australian’
Summary
The political histories of multiculturalism policy in Australia and South Korea are significantly different. In South Korea, under the two divergent presidencies of Roh Moo-Hyun (2003-2008), a progressive leader, and Lee Myun-bak (2008-2013) a more right-wing leader, the Korean government was actively developing multiculturalism policies related to the education curriculum and community-based investments in multicultural family support centres (Chung 2018). During this same period, Australia was moving away from its commitment to building a national policy framework of multiculturalism. Korean multiculturalism policy was an assimilationist approach of bringing ‘racial others in the process of a nation-building project’ (Ahn 2013, p. 32)
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