Based on the awareness that previous studies on changes of Chosun-zok(Korean-Chinese) community and Chosun-zok's migration were made up from gender-blinded migration theory and immigration area/state-centered researches, this dissertation focuses on t...
Based on the awareness that previous studies on changes of Chosun-zok(Korean-Chinese) community and Chosun-zok's migration were made up from gender-blinded migration theory and immigration area/state-centered researches, this dissertation focuses on the minority's rural village after the Reform(the economic reform in the People's Republic of China) and has aims to show Chosun-zok rural women's role in the process that Chosun-zok community has been changed to 'Yiminmucun'(the regional base due to the migration).
In this dissertation, the non-argriculturalizing ways of the inhabitants in a village called B in Yanbian and the characteristics of Chosun-zok's 'Yiminmucun' are analysed according to three factors: the development of garden economy through the processing industry with regional resources, the relationship of Chosun-zok to Korea, and the transnational migrant employment during the thirty years starting in 1980s. This study is based on the ethnography and uses several methods such as field research, participation observation, depth interview, life history research in B village in Yanbian and two areas in Korea.
The results are as follows.
1. While the way of production was changed―from "the household production economy" in the Reform of the early 1980s to "the household consumption economy" transnationally with the development of migrant employment after 1990s, women participated in the social economic activities thoroughly and actively.
Firstly, during the early Reform days which covered from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, women in B village took a role in producing the goods from garden more actively and primarily rather than men who assisted women. It can be called the division of "women primary-men subordinate". And some brave and adventurous rural women got out of B village and central areas in Yanbian and migrated to the transnational regions such as metropolitan cities in China, North Korea, and South Korea, and then had experiences to get a job in non-agricultural industries even though it was a short-term experience.
Secondly, the emergence of the market economy after the Reform made a chance for rural women to raise their economical empowerment. Women in B village developed the pollack processing industry that represented regional characteristics. The pollack processing industry consisted of ⑴ the importation of raw materials(the frozen pollack) from Russia or North Korea, ⑵ the procedure for manufacturing the frozen pollack in B village, and ⑶ the exportation to South Korea. It is characterized as a transregional-transnational industry. Due to the characteristics of the pollack processing industry, women took a primary part throughout the whole procedure including from purchasing raw materials to processing and selling the products, and even they needed to solve the problems related to the scale improvement and funds. It resulted to appear several business women leaders. The pollack processing industry created the chances to hire hundreds of people and was enough to attract people from other regions resulting from the investment of returnees who accumulated capital assets through the transnational migrant employment. The increase of remittance investment helped to raise women's economical empowerment as well as to soften the blow of changes in the regional base.
Even though the pollack processing industry ended in failure, women's experiences of success and failure show how the women-centered, ecological processing industry can be combined with rural women's empowerment.
Thirdly, women's migration through brokers in the illegal migration markets and their active efforts to promote the employment of themselves and their families under the working-visit policy resulted to the emergence of migrant workers from B village to South Korea since 1998. With the increase of migration to South Korea after 2006, about one third of population in B village left the area to be migrant workers in South Korea, and the area was changed to 'Yiminmucun' which was in the process of continuous migration and return in 2009. The way of production in the area became the household consumption economy. B village became extinct, but it was unceasing by middle-aged migrant women workers who made remittance. It means that women take a role as an actual bread-winner.
2. The distinct experiences from Chosun-zok's migration and the case of B village can be found in five aspects.
Firstly, the Korean government's policies on Chosun-zok's migration have been changed from the "connection-based" policy through the "migration restraint" policy to the "non-connected-working-visit" policy. Most inhabitants in B village were descendants whose ancestors had migrated from North Korea, so that they nearly had connections with South Korea. Therefore, the "working-visit" policy in 2007 became a watershed dividing the way of non-connected Chosun-zok rural villager's migration to South Korea into two stages. In the first stage, the transnational marriage and migration through brokers appeared in the illegal markets. And in the second stage, legal migrant employment could be accomplished through passing Korean language tests and casting lots to get a visa for working-visit(H-2 visa).
Secondly, the rate of non-connected rural women for transnational marriage was higher than that of men. Most transnational marriages were used as tactics to achieve the economical purpose, and the "connection-making" through migration for marriage accelerated to chain migration and employment among their relatives and inhabitants in Chosun-zok community. Non-connected women to South Korea made good use of the migration through brokers in the illegal markets and the working-visit policy that started recently.
Thirdly, rural women in Chosun-zok community generally experienced the "remote-control mothering" instead of the ordinary and emotional role as a mother in the family owing to their migrant employment. The empty place which resulting from rural women's migration was filled by old-aged women who took a primary role in reproduction and care work. Furthermore, the commercialization of care work appeared in each families of Chosun-zok community.
The "remote-control mothering" of women migrants from B village had tendencies to make a living for their children, to experience and apply the way of caring and education in South Korea for communicating with their children according to their newly achieved perception and knowledge while working as a domestic worker, and to lead or support the migrant employment of their adult children resulting to the continuous migration throughout generations.
Fourthly, due to the migration, nuclear families(or matrilineal extended families) became extinct and another kind of families appeared that consisted of grand parents and grand children. This tendency caused the absence or shortage for supporting seniors and educating children in families which were traditionally performed in the families, and it brought about a new social problem in Chosun-zok community. The problemizing of grand parents-grand children families shows that there is no change of Chosun-zok men's understanding and behavior on the patriarchal gender role, and that they become more ego-centered individuals.
Fifthly, the relationship between Chosun-zok and Han-zok(Han Chinese) rural villagers has been changed in Chosun-zok's 'Yiminmucun'. In the economic level, a minority of Han-zok farmers handed over the "fields of household responsibility" out of a great number of Chosun-zok farmers and participated in the agricultural production directly. It leaded to the Han-zok-centered agricultural structure and the increase of Han-zok's economic power. The status of Chosun-zok labor force who were left in the area and hired as workers by Han-zok farmers came to fall. In the political level, it was natural for Chosun-zok men executives to seize the power because most of villagers were Chosun-zok. In current 'Yiminmucun', however, there appears a new phenomenon―the struggle for administrative power. Further, because of "the trend of migration to South Korea", Chosun-zok men executives were tempted into the transnational migration. During the research, only their wives worked as a transnational migrant worker. In the case of Chosun-zok women executives, all of ex-executives experienced the transnational migrant employment. In the populational level, the number of Han-zok households has increased on account of leasing or buying empty houses which belonged to Chosun-zok migrants.
As long as the migration of Chosun-zok rural villagers continues, it is impossible to assure the economic self-reliance and the developed future of Chosun-zok's 'Yiminmucun' although the Chinese Government has pushed ahead with "Socialist New Countryside" policy since the beginning of 21st century. Especially, without young generations' coming back to Chosun-zok community, nothing will remain but to satisfy the poor maintenance of the community hopelessly.
This dissertation will contribute to the research outcomes related to the changes of Chosun-zok community and women's migration.
|
