Cette recherche porte sur l’expérience socio-scolaire des jeunes adultes issus de l’immigration d’origine coréenne au Québec, et ce, étudié à travers la question des processus d’identification ainsi que leur rapport à la culture. L’enquête met notamment en évidence l’ambiguïté reliée à l’identité des jeunes coréens et coréennes de minorité modèle. La problématique étudiée porte plus spécifiquement sur le vécu de frontières avec le groupe majoritaire et le sentiment d’appartenance des jeunes adultes issues d’une minorité racisée ayant rarement fait l’objet d’une étude spécifique. Le concept de processus d’identification, avec son caractère dynamique, permet, dans le cadre de cette recherche, de reconnaître le travail de négociation entre, d’une part, la catégorisation et, d’autre part, l’auto-identification. Cette négociation par l’acteur prend notamment place entre les multiples influences ethnoculturelles et les rapports d’oppression raciale auxquels ces jeunes adultes peuvent être confrontés dans leur expérience. En effet, ceux-ci se retrouvent ainsi à la croisée d’un Québec francophone, d’un Canada anglophone, d’une communauté ethnique coréenne, mais également devant divers préjugés racisant contribuant à inférioriser leur origine ethnique. En allant au-delà des portraits statistiques, l’originalité de cette étude tient dans l’analyse exploratoire de l’expérience socio-scolaire – et le sens attribué à cette expérience par les individus – à travers leurs discours construits par l’entremise d’entretiens qualitatifs. La recherche a su montrer que les individus forment des rapports complexes hybrides à leur identification et que la catégorisation par le groupe dominant est constamment négociée en des formes variées de résistance. Cette catégorisation a été vécue par les participant·es sous la forme de pressions ethniques et sociales, d’invalidation et d’exclusion sociale. Les résultats de nos analyses suggèrent également que les transitions d’institution scolaire marquent des moments importants de renégociation des frontières, tout comme la (re)découverte culturelle du pays d’origine de la Corée du Sud. Finalement, le rapport à la culture des participant·es a révélé la place centrale du français et de la blanchité dans l’identité québécoise et le potentiel de remise en question des préjugés et d’ouverture sur la culture que porte la nouvelle vague de culture populaire sud-coréenne à l’étranger. / This research focuses on the socio-educational experience of young adults with an immigration background of Korean origin in Quebec studied through the question of their identification processes as well as their relationship to culture. In particular, the research highlights the ambiguity surrounding the identity of young Koreans from model minority groups. The problematic concerns more specifically the lived experience of borders with the majority group and the feeling of belonging of young adults from a racialized minority that have rarely been the subject of a specific study. The concept of identification process, by its dynamic nature, allows us, within the context of this research, to recognize the work of negotiation between, on one hand, categorization and, on the other hand, self-identification. This negotiation by the actor particularly takes place between the multiple ethnocultural influences and the racial oppressive relationships that these young adults may face in their experience. Indeed, they thus find themselves at the crossroads of a French-speaking Quebec, an English-speaking Canada, a Korean ethnic community, but also faced with various racial prejudices that contribute to inferiorize their ethnic origin. By searching beyond statistical portraits, the originality of this study lies in the exploratory analysis of school experiences – and the meaning attributed to this experience by the individuals – through their discourse constructed with qualitative interviews. This research has shown that individuals form complex hybrid relationships with their identification and that categorization by the dominant group is constantly negotiated through various forms of resistance. This categorization was experienced by the participants as ethnic and social pressures, invalidation, and social exclusion. The results of our analyzes further suggest that transitions between school institutions mark important moments of borders’ renegotiation, and so does the cultural (re)discovery of their origin country of South Korea. Finally, the participants’ relationship to culture revealed the central place of French and whiteness in Quebec’s identity and the potential to question prejudices and to open to culture that holds the new wave of South Korean popular culture South Korean overseas.

Literature has shown that Korean immigrants experience severe depressive symptoms due to the stresses associated with immigration. The purpose of this study is to extend current research on stress and depression to the Korean immigrant population in the United States. While most studies on Korean immigrants focus almost entirely on the unsettling nature of immigration, the current study focused on the role of stress-resistance variables (mediating factors) in the relationship between various sources of stress and depression among Korean immigrants. This study investigated the relationship between stressors and depression and the effects of such mediating variables as coping strategies, social support, personal resources (mastery and self-esteem), and religiosity on the stressors-depression relationship among the Korean population. The sample of this study consisted of 374 Korean immigrants who migrated to the United States at the age of 16 or older. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. Results found detrimental effects of stressors on the level of depression, as well as mediating effects of perceived social support and personal resources (selfesteem and mastery) on the relationship between stressors and depression. However, no mediating effects of coping strategies and religiosity on the relationship between stressors and depression were found. Implications for social work practice, research, theory, policy, and education are discussed.

This thesis concentrates on literary works written by writers belonging to the resident Korean minority in Japan (zainichi Koreans). Through the use of postcolonial methodology, this work attempts to monitor the development and changes in the complex concept of "identity" in works written between the 1960s and 2010. The thesis is divided into two major parts. The first, theoretical part, explains the birth of the minority, the conflicts that influenced it and the changes it went through during its history. Postcolonial methodology is also explained, with focus put on the parts that are relevant to Japan. The second, practical part of the thesis, shortly explains the history of zainichi literature and then concentrates on five important postwar resident Korean writers - Ri Kaisei, Kin Kakuei, Yi Yang-ji, Kaneshiro Kazuki and Yu Miri. It analyzes between one and four works by each author and attempts to identify changes in the perception of "identity". It also takes into account female characters and the way they are portrayed by the authors and also the language the book is written in, focusing on whether the author chooses to incorporate the Korean language into the text.