The objective of this study is to approach the lived experiences and the identity
development of Korean immigrant students in Canada. The concept of diaspora suggests to
look at the new style of identity in a global world.
In order to describe Korean students' transnational experience, the study attempts: 1)
to determine the influence of immigration on the development of students' identity, 2) to
examine the cultural and racial experience in different situations, 3) to discuss how Korean
students situate themselves and develop their self-concepts in relationship to others.
The study employed a qualitative method and conducted ten individual, semi-structured
interviews. In the study, ten Korean immigrant students were asked about their
immigration backgrounds, their experiences at school and home, their friendships with Korean
friends and non-Korean friends, and their future plans.
My analysis attempts to examine the discrepancy between: 1) how Korean students
see themselves, 2) how they think they are viewed by others 3) what they aspire to become in
the future. Most Korean students identified themselves as "Korean" while others described
themselves as "Asian" or did not wish to identify themselves. However, their self-definitions
did not always coincide with how others saw them in different situations. At school, students
tended to be seen as Asians by the mainstream, and shared the experience of being victims of
racism. This shared experience along with the cultural similarity allowed them to have closer
relationships with Asians. However, physical, cultural and historical "invisibility" of Koreans
among Asians contributed to create a sense of inferiority. At home, students try to reward their
parents' sacrifices by being "successful" at school, planning a future career, as well as
maintaining Korean traditions at home.
Korean students develop new identities in their country of settlement, but at the same
time, they are still mentally connected to their country of origin. The source of Korean identity
is readily accessible in a multicultural society, and globalisation facilitates a connection for
Koreans to their homeland.
The concept of diaspora presents a new look at the minority students' special
relationship to their countries of settlement and their country of origin. It can give a deeper
understanding of the social reality in which minority students live. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/12115 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Kim, Ihhwa |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 5677030 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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