• THE MAKING OF A GLOBAL RACIAL HIERARCHY: RACIAL FORMATION OF SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN MIGRANTS IN SOUTH KOREA

    Author(s):
    Seonok Lee (see profile)
    Date:
    2019
    Group(s):
    Global & Transnational Studies
    Subject(s):
    East Asia, Area studies, Immigrants--Study and teaching, Equality, Race, Ethnicity, Transnationalism
    Item Type:
    Dissertation
    Institution:
    University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
    Tag(s):
    East Asian studies, Immigration studies, Inequality, Race/ethnicity, Transnational migration
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/2dvh-4z43
    Abstract:
    How, why and under what conditions do new racial categories form? This dissertation examines the construction of South and Southeast Asian migrants (tongnama) as a new racial category in South Korea: a country in a continent long neglected within studies of race. Through ethnographic research on foreign migrant workers and marriage immigrants in South Korea, it was discovered that a new racial category has emerged. My findings show that several elements contribute to the racial formation of tongnama migrants: the Korean State, Korean culture, gender and patriarchy, and the Korean labour market. To be specific, exploitative capitalist practices in the Korean labour market and gendered recruitment of foreign brides shape and reshape South Koreans’ understanding of this new racial category. At the same time, the racial formation of South and Southeast Asian migrants emerges out of a need by Koreans to understand their country’s position within contemporary international migration flows.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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