ABSTRACT
Sociodrama Experience among Chinese Students having Hardship of Acculturation and Adaptation to Korean University
PARK, WOO-JIN
Department of Social Welfare
Graduate School of Soongsil University
This study attempted to find the...
ABSTRACT
Sociodrama Experience among Chinese Students having Hardship of Acculturation and Adaptation to Korean University
PARK, WOO-JIN
Department of Social Welfare
Graduate School of Soongsil University
This study attempted to find the nature and meaning of the sociodrama experience in terms of the subjective awareness among the Chinese international students undergoing acculturation in Korea. This study was thus conducted to make the use of a sociodrama as a support system for the Chinese international students having difficulty in an acculturation adaptation process and thereto as effective social work intervention. The research question was set as “What is like for Chinese international students undergoing acculturation to experience an sociodrama?”
As the participants in this study, a total of 12 were selected, who were four-year college and graduate students in Seoul. The participants were aged between 24 and 28. Their mean age was 26 years. The population consisted of 2 males and 10 females. The lengthy of stay was 2 - 6 years, with 4 years on average. The study data were collected through face - to - face in-depth interviews after the demonstration of five secessions of sociodrama. Following Colaizzi phenomenological method, verbal components and non-verbal components that had appeared in the participants were observed and described using an interview record created. An effort was made to capture the meaning out of the contents described, group more abstract contents, and classify these contents by topic.
The findings are as follows: It was observed that students from China did not actively approach, accept, and experience Korea culture while studying in Korea. They responded that due to a lack of Korean, they had no confidence and were unable to express their feelings. Because of the difference in wine and food culture between China and Korea featuring 24 - hours night life, they did not know what to do with making friends with Korean students and with a drinking party with their professors.
They said that they also had difficulty in using honorific titles in Korean culture where a hierarchy between juniors and seniors must be complied among them. They were also found out to get stressed because of the biases in studies and in the process of finding a job. They answered that it was not easy to make friends with Korean students and so they spent alone or just associated with Chinese international students comforting each other. They found it difficult to adapt to Korean culture and college life. It was usual for them to be bullied in school classes or team projects. This suggests that Chinese international students may regard their studying abroad in Korea as an enduring process.
Through a sociodrama, the participants expressed non-verbal behaviors such as tearing news, changing roles, doing what they don’t usually do, doing role-playing, throwing cloth towards the wall, screaming and swearing, doing what they have learned playing an auxiliary ego and other participants’ roles, expressing their real intention, and playing a role as a lifeless. After experiencing a sociodrama, they experienced positive changes. In other words, they came to understand the commons and differences between Koreans and the Chinese, gain confidence through the training on how to deal with problems with finding a job and difficulties, and learn how to cope with difficulties in Korea through their role model. They experienced a change in sentiment, found it to provide an opportunity for self-growth and maturity, and became enlightened. And they also found their new look and felt cool expressing feelings into an act. They expressed what they had not usually done and an effect that their hurt and fear disappeared.
In addition, they even recommended Korean students or other Chinese international students to participate in a sociodrama that can be helpful in improving acculturation adaptation. As they also realized the need to improve their acculturation adaptation, they came to understand that they would have to make an effort to actively approach, accept and adapt to Korean culture.
Thus, to Chinese international students, sociodrama experience may mean an opportunity to look back on a process of the discrimination in terms of the difficulty that they have experienced since they started studying abroad in Korea, think about themselves, and get an mutual understanding of cultural differences between China and Korea. Therefore, it was found out that the nature theme that Chinese international students had recognized through sociodrama experience was “positive understanding of Korean culture and changes in the awareness.”
A sociodrama is an helpful strategy through behaviors, rather than through words, and brought about positive changes in Chinese international students who lacked Korean skills. Thus, it appears that a sociodrama is a good intervention approachable to such clients as those who are difficult to intervene through language counselling, or Chinese international students and multicultural students. Additionally, it is necessary that the foreigner support centers and student counseling institutes under individual university support Chinese international students on improving their acculturation adaptation.
This study demonstrated that a sociodrama is a helpful strategy through behaviors, rather than through words. Therefore, the use of a sociodrama is expected to be very effective for community social work.
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