Examining Chosonjok identity and women’s agency in transnational migration

2011-08-09In this thesis, I try to explore the push and pull factors that contribute to the cross-border migration of the Korean Chinese throughout history. The relative isolation of the Korean Chinese community in China allowed its preservation of traditional Confucian thoughts and the Korean customs, while the political and economic marginalization of the minority group triggered the upward mobile Korean Chinese members to go across borders for opportunities in South Korea. ❧ The glamorous city life and the booming economy of South Korea first attracted the Korean Chinese, however, the disappointing living experience and discriminatory working conditions in their natal land greatly propelled the Korean Chinese to rethink their belongingness and thus, as some scholars argued, they chose their political identity as Chinese over their Korean ethnic roots. ❧ As the Korean Chinese immigration becomes highly gendered, due to the preference of importation of women in service sectors and in marriage market, the Korean Chinese women begin to draw harsh criticism from both societies. My research, however, tries to raise public awareness of the plights the Korean Chinese women have to go through in South Korea. ❧ It is predicted that the Korean community in China was on the verge of dissolution. Nonetheless, based on the examination of recent immigration trends and the changing perception of South Korea among the young generation, therefore, I conclude that new Korean Chinese communities are forming in big South Korean and Chinese cities, and the young Korean Chinese are balancing between the dual identities and capitalizing on their connections to both societies