This study aims to explore how ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan adapt themselves to a new culture and how their identities change as they experience their school life in Korea. The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide basic data need...
This study aims to explore how ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan adapt themselves to a new culture and how their identities change as they experience their school life in Korea. The ultimate purpose of this study is to provide basic data need to develop concrete support plans, differentiated policies, and educational services that help overseas Koreans, especially ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan better adapt themselves to their school life in Korea. The following research questions were established to meet these research objectives,
RQ 1: How do ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan experience the process of acculturation in their school life in Korea?
RQ 2: How do their identities change?
To get the responses to these questions, the author of this study carried out one-on-one interviews with 5 ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan living in (Ga) city, Gyeonggi-do from April 27 through November 29, 2015. In addition, as the result of carefully illuminating and analyzing all their statements by means of Giorgi’s phenomenological method, they were classified into a total of 15 minor subjects and 8 major subjects under the 3 categories: “Life on the border”, “School life”, and “Uncertain future”. The analysis results of responses to RQ 1 are as follows:
First, the biggest challenge that they had to face in the process of acculturation in their Korean school life was their inability to understand the contents of the overall school lessons because of their poor Korean language.
Second, they also had difficulty in getting along with their Korean fellow students. They said that they could form an amicable relationship with them, but they could not develop a close relationship in which they were able to confide with them. Instead, they were found to have associated with other ethnic Korean friends in Korean schools and to have received more help from them in overcoming difficulties in their school life.
Third, Korean teachers’ attitudes toward them were generally positive and friendly. On the contrary, their Uzbek teachers were found to have had unilateral, directive and commanding attitudes toward them. However, they were also found to have had difficulty in forming a close relationship with their Korean teachers as well due to their poor communication in Korean language.
Fourth, it was found that various support services in Korean schools helped them adapt themselves to their Korean school life. They showed their sense of satisfaction with their school life thanks to various supports for multi-cultural class students. However these educational supports differed from school to school.
The analysis results of responses to RQ 2 are as follows:
First, they had their identities as ethnic Koreans before they came to Korea. They also had expectations for Korea because they heard the stories of Korea from their parents who had earlier got jobs in Korea and they knew that their ethnic roots began in Korea. Though they came to Korea with such expectations, they experienced their identity confusion as they had Korean school life. Their identity confusion resulted from the relationship with and the attitudes of the Korean teachers and friends, who treated them as foreigners, not as Koreans, though they knew that their ethnic roots began in Korea: they were found to have unique identities as ethnic Koreans for this reason. As a result, they perceived the language as the most important factor in revealing self-identities, and thus thought they could have the identities as Koreans if they had a good command of Korean language.
Second, they want to make their future dreams come true in Korea, which seems to have been influenced by their parents. The parents, who came to Korea and now have tough jobs themselves, want their children to have stable jobs that can get them wealth and honor. In addition, the ethnic Korean young people themselves admitted that it was difficult to make their dreams come true in Uzbekistan. However, they had only vague hopes about their career, with no concrete action plans.
Based on these results, this study suggests the following proposals to make sure that they successfully adapt themselves to their school life and Korean culture.
First, one of the biggest challenge they faced in their Korean school life was their inability to understand the lessons due to their poor Korean language. Thus, there is need to deepen the art and physical education curriculum that is easy to understand even without verbal capability and can provide sense of accomplishment as well as psychological and emotional stability
Second, schools are the places where ethnic Koreans from Uzbekistan come to experience Korean society for the first time. Therefore schools should provide bilingual education programs as well for them. In addition, as they got confused about double identities that are formed between the two cultures, there is the need to create the programs for them to explore, develop, and establish their self-identities
Third, educational systems and policies should be established to allow them to stand on their own feet as competent members of the Korean future society. They may face the crisis of being dropped out when they begin to go to high school as in the cases of the young people who have immigrated to this country during their school ages. Therefore, there should be more specialized high schools than general college-entrance-oriented schools for them. In addition, a quota system should be implemented to make sure that they will also be allowed to make an entry into Korean society.
Fourth and lastly, most of the parents of the ethnic Korean young people from Uzbekistan have come to Korea with visiting employment visas. Schools need to provide Korean-culture education for them with open-minded attitudes; it will be the education for overseas Koreans and their children who are both living in Korea.
KeyWord : Ethnic Korean Adolescents from Uzbekistan, Acculturation process , Identities change, School life, Giorgi’s phenomenological method
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