Korean Migrants Research Articles

Research on Experiences of Elementary School Children s Education through Self-help Group of Korean Migrant Women’s

Research on Experiences of Elementary School Children s Education through Self-help Group of Korean Migrant Women’s

한국 이주노동레짐의 형성과 권리 결핍

한국 이주노동레짐의 형성과 권리 결핍

The Territoriality of Ethnic Enclaves: Dynamics of Transnational Practices and Geopolitical Relations within and beyond a Korean Transnational Enclave in New Malden, London

This article looks at how the territoriality of transnational enclaves is constituted by interactions among the lives and the discourses of three groups of ethnic Korean—South Korean, North Korean, and Joseonjok (Korean Chinese)—transnational migrants in New Malden, London. Based on longitudinal mixed ethnographic research, the article focuses on the power relations between longer settled South Korean migrants and newcomers, the latter of whom are disadvantaged in terms of legal status, linguistic abilities, and economic capital. By criticizing the concept of ethnic enclaves as bounded, homogeneous, and static areas, the research puts geopolitical approaches into focus, bringing concepts of transnationalism and territoriality geopolitics into conversation. The empirical findings demonstrate, first, that the geopolitical hierarchy and tensions among the origin societies of Joseonjok, South Korean, and North Korean migrants constituted part of the reterritorialization of the ethnic enclave of transnational migrants. “The home society” was extended into territories where these ethnic Koreans have resided in the past, particularly South Korea. Second, the transnational enclave is being constantly reterritorialized by conflicting and adapting interactions between longer settled South Korean migrants and newcomers. Third, the power relations of origin societies have penetrated through individual migrants' lives by means, in part, of different religious and ethnic organizations. This research demonstrates the importance of transnational practices and geopolitical relationships within and beyond transnational enclaves among migrant communities and how these create a territorialized and relational space within ethnic enclaves.

Telling migrant stories in collaborative photography research: Photographic practices and the mediation of migrant voices

This article examines how photographic practices in collaborative research might mediate migrant voices. It looks at the case of Shutter Stories, a collaborative photography project featuring images by Indian and Korean migrants in Manila, the Philippines. Drawing on life-story interviews and participant observation data, I identify two ways that the photographic selection practices in the project mediated the migrants’ photo essays. One is how subject selection practices led the participants to use both strategic and ‘medium’ essentialism in choosing their topics. The second is how technique selection practices enabled the participants to express vernacular creativity in crafting their images. I argue that the mediation instantiated by Shutter Stories fostered the participants’ ability to use photo essays to articulate voices that simultaneously conveyed their personal stories and engaged the viewing public. However, I also identify the limits of this mediation, indicating how future projects can better enable migrant voices.

Music’s Role in Facilitating the Process of Healing—A Thematic Analysis

This qualitative study aims to understand the factors motivating Korean migrants’ participation in weekly Charismatic Prayer Meetings in a Catholic Church. As music plays a crucial role in these meetings, the paper explores whether active engagement with music motivated the long-term commitment of participants to the meetings. The research is based on a thematic analysis of a focus group comprising six Korean adults living in Australia. Results show that music performed in religious forms such as Praise and Worship and Speaking/Singing in Tongues prayers was found to intensify spiritual experiences of the people as a group, and over time, each participant experienced improved physical and mental wellbeing, which in turn motivated further investment in the meetings. It was evident that the passionate group music-making enabled participants to focus on conscious and subconscious body, mind, and spirit, eliciting transpersonal experiences within each person. The findings of the current study are deemed relevant to this specific cohort and to others in similar contexts, where minority groups use worship and music for socio-cultural inclusion that addresses both spiritual and mental health issues. Though a small-scale study, the current paper provides a rationale for these religious groups to be involved in music-based spiritual practice.

북한이주주민을 향한 환대의 선교

북한이주주민을 향한 환대의 선교

A Study on the Reconstruction of Biographical Development of the First and Second Generations of Korean Migrants to Germany: Centering around their Living Strategy

A Study on the Reconstruction of Biographical Development of the First and Second Generations of Korean Migrants to Germany: Centering around their Living Strategy

Surviving the Second World War in Manchukuo: memories of Korean experiences of the war in Manchurian farming villages

ABSTRACTWhen the Second Sino–Japanese War broke out in 1937, it became increasingly important for the Japanese Empire to secure and exploit areas under its colonial control in order to strengthen the imperial forces. Focusing on the memories of the Chaoxian zu (ethnic Korean) peasants in Minle Chaoxian zu Township, Heilongjiang, this article examines how Korean migrant peasants in Manchukuo survived such an exploitative situation. These ordinary people’s memories of the years from 1937 through 1945 demonstrate that some Korean migrants negotiated their power in everyday practice by positioning themselves ambiguously in relationship to the Japanese colonizers and to other colonized peoples. While pressure existed to support the imperial forces by producing more rice, by being submissive imperial subjects, and by speaking Japanese in public, this article argues that these Koreans managed to survive by coping with the colonial circumstances. Their emphasis on daily lives challenges the simplistic binary between the colonized and the colonizer and sheds light on the moments when the weak exercised their power.

탈북이주민의 사회통합을 위한 문화적 이해: 기숙형 탈북 아동 방과후 공부방 사례를 중심으로

탈북이주민의 사회통합을 위한 문화적 이해: 기숙형 탈북 아동 방과후 공부방 사례를 중심으로

Cultural Understanding of Group Activity and Conflicts of North Korean Migrant Women

Cultural Understanding of Group Activity and Conflicts of North Korean Migrant Women

Sydney's ethnic underclass.

"Sydney is Australia's richest metropolis. But it is also attracting a disproportionate share of lower-skilled, NESB-origin [non-English speaking background] migrants. These migrants earn low incomes and are concentrating in a group of suburbs to the city's south-west. A case study of the experience of Korean migrants indicates some of the factors shaping the process."

Minds of Division and Ethics of Hospitality : Focusing on ‘Tagukki’ rally and North Korean Migrants

이 글은 촛불집회라는 국면에서 한국사회의 미래는 무엇이어야만 하는지 그리고 그 주체는 누구여야 하는지에 대한 고민에서 시작되었다. 촛불집회를 기점으로 한국사회 내부에 침잠해있던 갈등과 대립의 구조가 수면위로 부상하였고, 촛불집회의 주체로 명명된 `시민`이나 `우리`의 표식 내에서도 소외된 주체들은 존재했다. 예컨대 `태극기`로 대표되는 세력은 극우적인 메시지와 반공이데올로기를 적극 활용하여 세대 간의 갈등과 대립을 전면화 하였고, 촛불시민 또한 국민국가적인 집단정체성을 필요충분조건으로 가정하면서 그 내부의 차이를 간과하기도 하였다. 사실 한국사회의 대부분의 시민은 다양한 사회적 공간과 다층적인 시간성에서 소외된 경험이 있다. 이 글은 한국사회의 현 상황을 복수의 시간성과 공간성이 복잡하게 얽혀 있는 구조로 파악하고, 이러한 구조 내에 정박하는 것이 불가능해진 행위주체의 문제를 `태극기`로 대표되는 노인 집단과 탈북자의 사례를 통해 분석한다. `태극기`에 참여한 노인 집단의 경우 빠르게 변화하는 한국사회의 시간 구조에서 탈락한 이들이며, 탈북자의 경우 분단으로 인해 자신의 장소를 잃어버린 이들이다. 이들과의 공존이 가능한 미래는 국민국가적 정체성을 공고히 하는 것이 아니라 모든 구성원이 `지금-여기`의 시공간에서 정박하지 못하고 있음을 인정하고, 배제와 결핍의 경험을 서로 공감하면서 윤리적 존재로서 연대를 모색할 때 상상될 수 있다. 이런 맥락에서 정치적 `분단`이 만들어낸 분단된 사회적 마음을 극복하는 길은 결국 공통의 윤리적 가치의 구축에서 찾을 수 있을 것이다.

잠재성장모형을 활용한 탈북청소년의 사회자본과 학교적응 간 종단관계 분석

잠재성장모형을 활용한 탈북청소년의 사회자본과 학교적응 간 종단관계 분석

Yes, We're all Korean, but it's Still Difficult : North Korean Migrants' Acculturation into South Korean Society and Challenges They Face

Yes, We're all Korean, but it's Still Difficult : North Korean Migrants' Acculturation into South Korean Society and Challenges They Face

Structural relationships between social capital of North Korean Migrant Youths and school adjustment in South Korea

Structural relationships between social capital of North Korean Migrant Youths and school adjustment in South Korea

戰後 上海의 韓僑 처리와 한인사회

戰後 上海의 韓僑 처리와 한인사회

The Role of NGOs in Settling North Korean Migrants into South Korean Society: Perceived Assistance and Realities

This study examines non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) settlement assistance to North Korean migrants into South Korean society from 2006 to 2008. This paper argues that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and clients need to develop an effective partnership in which trust is deeply grounded. This will not only facilitate effective service delivery and satisfactory cooperation, but also increase the likelihood of future cooperation between NGOs and clients. NGOs’ settlement assistance to North Korean migrants in South Korea serves as a case study we developed from findings derived from in-depth interviews, which were conducted from November 2006 through June 2007, with follow-up conducted through August 2008. We draw to collaborative governance and trust theories that locate the development of public-private partnership and effectiveness of service provision to address a broader debate about the role of NGOs to mediate migrants’ settlement in a host society.

Migrant narratives as photo stories: on the properties of photography and the mediation of migrant voices

This article examines how the properties of photography might mediate voice, defined as the capacity to speak and to be heard speaking about one’s life and the social conditions in which one’s life is embedded. It focuses on the affordances that the image provides for migrant cultural minorities to articulate such a voice within the context of collaborative research. I look at the case of Shutter Stories, a collaborative photography exhibition featuring the photo stories of Indian and Korean migrants from Manila, The Philippines. Using participant observation data, I show that it was photography’s ability to be all at once indexical, iconic, and symbolic that became important in voice as ‘speaking’. It allowed migrants to tell rich, multimodal narratives about their lives, albeit with some key limitations. I also show that it was photography’s inability to fix meanings with finality that mattered in voice as ‘being heard’. Although the locals who visited the exhibition engaged with the photo stories in an overwhelmingly positive manner, they often did not completely grasp the migrants’ complex narratives. All these data indicate that collaborative photography exhibition projects should not just be about how migrants speak and are heard. They should also be about how migrants can listen, so that they can adjust what they say to how they are being heard. This is a valuable reminder that in conceptualising photography and migrant cultural minority voices, we also need to take into account the broader process of multicultural dialogue.

The short Insight into the Constructions of Genre and Gender of the Korean Migrant Artists

The short Insight into the Constructions of Genre and Gender of the Korean Migrant Artists

Ageing in anomie: Later life migration and its implications for anti-anomic social work practice

Reflecting on studies with Korean migrants in New Zealand, this article aims to identify the issues associated with later life migration and transnational family life among older Korean people who have immigrated in their old age. The discussion in this reflection highlights that older migrants often face challenges in ageing in a place where their norms and values are eroded, although later life migration can also allow them to enrich their life experience overseas. Their intergenerational relationships are influenced by transnational family contexts. Implications for social work practice are discussed, focusing on ‘anti-anomic’ practice in working with migrant populations and their communities.