The Korean Diaspora In The World Economy

"In this book - based on a major conference sponsored by the Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF) in Seoul in October 2002 - experts hold up South Korea as one of the most dramatic examples of participation in the global economy, having gone from being a poor, underdeveloped country fewer than 40 years ago to becoming a postwar economic success story. This report also looks at South Korea's role as a regional trading partner and its present and future relations with north Korea" -- BACK COVER.

The movement of Koreans in the last century has been driven by diverse, profound factors and has left an indelible mark on Korean society. The Korean diaspora has often been studied in relation to South Korea's economic rise amid domestic and societal hardships, but these accounts fail to consider the breadth of its migrants' experiences and their rich, cross-cultural interactions. What initially pushed these Koreans to leave their homeland, and how did these people arrive in these far-away places? How do their stories connect the seemingly disparate Korean communities and distinguish them from other diasporas?In The Forgotten Histories, The East Foundation outlines the history of the Korean diaspora and unites the often isolated narratives of Korean migrants from throughout the world. Focusing on four distinct and pivotal migration waves, this book addresses the overarching economic and political conditions that prompted emigration from the Korea peninsula, and how those circumstances formed the basis for a continually shifting understanding of Korean identity. Taken together, these histories portray examples of adaptation, relocation, and persistence, while emphasizing the unique collective unity among Korean migrants and their descendants.

The indistinct status of the Zainichi has meant that, since the late 1940s, two ethnic Korean associations, the Chongryun (pro-North) and the Mindan (pro-South) have been vying for political loyalty from the Zainichi, with both groups initially opposing their assimilation in Japan. Unlike the Korean diasporas living in Russia, China or the US, the Zainichi have become sharply divided along political lines as a result. Myung Ja Kim examines Japan's changing national policies towards the Zainichi in order to understand why this group has not been fully integrated into Japan. Through the prism of this ethnically Korean community, the book reveals the dynamics of alliances and alignments in East Asia, including the rise of China as an economic superpower, the security threat posed by North Korea and the diminishing alliance between Japan and the US. Taking a post-war historical perspective, the research reveals why the Zainichi are vital to Japan's state policy revisionist aims to increase its power internationally and how they were used to increase the country's geopolitical leverage.With a focus on International Relations, this book provides an important analysis of the mechanisms that lie behind nation-building policy, showing the conditions controlling a host state's treatment of diasporic groups.

This edited volume analyzes the Korean diaspora across the world and traces the meaning and the performance of homeland. The contributors explore different types of discourses among Korean diaspora across the world, such as personal/familial narratives, oral/life histories, public discourses, and media discourses. They also examine the notion of “space” to diasporic experiences, arguing meanings of space/place for Korean diaspora are increasingly multifaceted.

More than one-half million people of Korean descent reside in Japan today—the largest ethnic minority in a country often assumed to be homogeneous. This timely, interdisciplinary volume blends original empirical research with the vibrant field of diaspora studies to understand the complicated history, identity, and status of the Korean minority in Japan. An international group of scholars explores commonalities and contradictions in the Korean diasporic experience, touching on such issues as citizenship and belonging, the personal and the political, and homeland and hostland.

In this book, scholars from disciplines like anthropology, history, linguistics and philology engage with the subject of how Koreans who live outside Korea had to (re-)define their own distinct cultural life in a foreign environment. Most Koreans in the diaspora define themselves through their ancestry, their language and their religion. Language serves as a strong argument for defining one’s own identity within a multi ethnic society. Ethnic Koreans in the diaspora tend to cultivate their own very special dialects. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of China, most ethnic Koreans in Central Asia, Manchuria and Siberia came again into close contact with Koreans especially from South Korea. There is a certain desire amongst many ethnic Koreans to learn the standard Korean language instead of sticking to their own dialects. This volume investigates constructions of Korean diasporic identity from a variety of temporal and spatial contexts.

Digital Development in Korea explores the central role of digital information and communication technology in South Korea. Analyzing the role of ICT in green growth and sustainability, this new edition also demonstrates how concerns over public safety and the Olympic Games are shaping next generation digital networks. Presenting a network-centric perspective to contextualize digital development politically, economically and socially, as well as in relation to globalization, urbanization and sustainability, this book builds on fi rsthand experience to explain the formulation and implementation of key policy decisions. It describes the revolutionary changes of the 1980s, including privatization and color television and the thorough restructuring that created a telecommunications sector. It then goes on to explore the roles of government leadership, international development and education in affecting the diffusion of broadband mobile communication, before weighing up the positive and negative aspects of Korea’s vibrant new digital media. Seeking to identify aspects of the Korean experience from which developing countries around the world could benefi t, this book will be of interest to students, scholars and policymakers interested in communications technologies, Korean studies and developmental studies.