Secondary Migration and Workplace Language Use among Korean Immigrants from Latin America

Abstract

Not all Korean immigrants in the U.S. originated from South Korea; instead, some are secondary migrants from various places in Latin America. These individuals often arrived in the U.S. with more diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds than those who came directly from Korea. Based on extensive interview data from 102 people of Korean descent from Latin America currently residing in the New York metropolitan area, this article examines how Latin American language abilities among Korean remigrants have impacted their resettlement processes, concentrating on their workplace experiences. The article contextualizes Korean‐Latino interracial relations within the diverse economic environment of the city. Building on previous literature mainly addressing Korean‐Latino relations focusing only on Korean businesses, this study sheds light on how Korean remigrants contribute to New York’s general economy by interacting with Latino groups. In addition, this article emphasizes Latino immigrants both as employees of and consumers for Korean businesses and demonstrates that Korean remigrants have served as critical intermediaries, for example, by running employment agencies that connect Korean employers with Latino employees. This study of intraethnic and interethnic relations among Koreans from Latin America and other groups of Latino populations testifies to a surprising degree of diversity within the seemingly homogenous Korean population in the U.S., and demonstrates the unacknowledged pluralism of linguistic and cultural differences among them. I expect that it will serve as a launching point to further discuss diverse linkages between two of the largest immigrant groups in the U.S.: Asian and Latino communities, which are likely to have multiple, but less acknowledged, ethnic backgrounds.