ABSTRACT Settlement Phenomenon and Acculturation of Foreign Immigrant Workers - Focused on the Role of Leisure - Bae Seon sik Graduate School of Inha University Dept. Multicultural Studies The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of... ABSTRACT Settlement Phenomenon and Acculturation of Foreign Immigrant Workers - Focused on the Role of Leisure - Bae Seon sik Graduate School of Inha University Dept. Multicultural Studies The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of leisure activities on the acculturation of foreign immigrant workers in terms of assimilation and integration, and to suggest the necessity of leisure activities among these workers on the basis of the opinions of experts in multiculture. Currently, there is a rapid increase in the percentage of foreigners who intend to reside in South Korea as residents instead of merely regarding this country as a temporary place for them to stay. The government introduced the employment permit system to impose restrictions on long- term stay, but the number of unregistered immigrant workers is rather on the rise, and the permit cases for working visit(H-2 visa) that is allowed on humanitarian ground is on the increase as well. The settlement(long stay) phenomena of foreign workers made this researcher interested in their everyday lives and the influence of their daily lives on acculturation in South Korea. First of all, it's assumed that the media activities and networking activities of immigrant workers would be quite instrumental in their acculturation process. That is, information that they receive naturally through media and networking is expected to help improve their understanding of other cultures and thereby to be of use for their acculturation, which is associated with the effects of cultivation that focuses on the socialization function of media. As for the characteristics of the acculturation of immigrant workers, they are usually "separated" from the mainstream culture at the onset of immigration and then become gradually accustomed to the local society, and then there appears a phenomenon of "integration" that there is coexistence of the original culture of their countries and the new mainstream culture by accepting the new culture. Afterwards, a phenomenon of "assimilation" takes place, in which they completely accept the local culture as they stay for a long time. Accordingly, assimilation and integration were selected in this study as the measurement criteria of acculturation. To achieve the purpose of the study, surveys and in-depth interviews were both implemented. The subjects were selected form three different places: Gimpo, Goyang and Saemangeum. Th first two places were located in the metropolitan area, and the last was situated in the provinces. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of 27 items about three areas: demographic variables, leisure activities and acculturation. The answer sheets from 426 respondents were analyzed. As for data analysis, a statistical package SPSS 24 was employed. To find out the characteristics of the major variables and the degree of acculturation, frequency analysis and descriptive statistics analysis were utilized, and t-test and one-way ANOVA were carried out to determine the trends in the dependent variable. To look for correlations, Pearson correlation analysis was used, and multiple regression analysis was made to figure out the impact of the variables on acculturation. The findings of the study were as follows: First, as a result of analyzing the impact of leisure activities on the tendency of assimilation, leisure activities exerted an influence of .202(p<0.05) on assimilation, and had an impact of .336(p<0.05) on integration. The relationships of the variables were statistically significant. It implies that more leisure activities could lead to a greater tendency of "assimilation" and "integration." To be specific, the influence of leisure activities on assimilation was .202(p<0.05), and that of leisure activities on integration was .336(p<0.05). It showed that the foreign workers came closer to "integration" than "assimilation." Second, concerning the types of leisure activities, networking had the largest impact on "assimilation," and media exercised the most influence on "integration." Third, regarding the influence of the demographic characteristics of the immigrant workers on acculturation, the impact of their countries, academic credential and length of stay was analyzed, and there were significant influential relationships between these factors and assimilation. Integration had a significant influential relationship with their countries only, and that had no influential relationship with academic credential and the length of stay. Fourth, the experts who were interviewed in depth suggested that it's required to take measures to help immigrant workers to enjoy a variety of cultural activities regardless of the legitimacy of their stay. This study is expected to raise awareness of the necessity of academic research on the acculturation of immigrant workers to successfully cope with their settlement phenomena. As a matter of fact, the leisure activities of immigrant workers are found to have been followed by their consumption in our country, their leisure activities are expected to affect the revitalization of local economy. At the same time, leisure exerts a positive influence on their acculturation as well, and is consequently expected to provide an opportunity for them to be embraced and integrated as members of Korean society, to prize community-oriented values and to fulfill all the responsibilities and obligations necessary for successful integration. Ultimately, this study is expected to improve the way of looking at the settlement of immigrant workers from the perspective of their social integration and to provide useful information on how to formulate and execute leisure policies to facilitate their acculturation. Keyword : Settlement, Immigrant Workers, Acculturation, leisure, media and network. ，韩语论文题目，韩语论文网站 |
