Politics of Citizenship and Belonging: Disability Studies Perspective on the Lived Experience of Korean Immigrants

• In Event: Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Translating Policy Into Practice in Schooling Contexts

Abstract

In the past decade, the immigrant population has increased exponentially in South Korea, a country generally considered to be homogeneous. The increase of the immigrant population has challenged the national homogeneity, and Korean schools are facing unprecedented challenges of embracing racial and cultural diversity. While educational institutions are attempting to provide solutions, such efforts have sought to assimilate immigrant children to the “norms.” This paper utilizes geographic theorizing on citizenship and belonging, exploring the intersection between disability studies and geography. Moving beyond the static vision of education based on a singular belonging, and citizenship as label, the paper argues for acknowledging the competence of all immigrant children and their families through conceptualization of ability as socially constructed and fluid notion.

Authors

• MinSoo Kim-Bossard, The Pennsylvania State University

• Hilario Lomeli, The Pennsylvania State University