Abstract
This chapter shows that jaemi gyopo (Korean Americans) is a diverse group with various people who have different ethnic identities or senses of belonging that are constantly shifting. Considering the ethnic status and history of Korean Americans community which has been oscillating between a Korea-centered to a Korean American focus, Korean American return migrants faced with differentiation do not redefine their identity in nationalist terms as Americans vis-à-vis the Koreans. While a popular expression of “in-betweenness” is often used, the process of identity negotiation can be understood in two folds as a strengthening of a hybrid and transnational identity of “Korean Americans” and a participating in the formation of new ethnic identity of globalized Korean.
The original version of this chapter was presented at the Korean Ethnic Return Migration and Diasporic Engagement Policy in Comparative Perspective Manila Conference, December 14–17, 2016, Manila, the Philippines.
All names of interviewees have been changed for anonymity.
For the romanization of Korean, the New Romanization Code prescribed by the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism is observed.
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Park, C.J. (2019). Ethnic Return Migration of Miguk Hanin (Korean Americans): Entanglement of Diaspora and Transnationalism. In: Tsuda, T., Song, C. (eds) Diasporic Returns to the Ethnic Homeland. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90763-5_7
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