(Re)Covering Self-Identities: The Palimpsest Identities of Korean International Students in the United States

• In Event: Current Issues in Postcolonial Studies in Education

Abstract

This study centers on the layeredness of palimpsest identities based on transnational experiences of Korean international students in US universities and the process of their identity construction. The prevalent discourses in much of the research on international students from Asia have simply focused on students’ exotic, past cultural tradition, such as Confucianism while emphasizing their inabilities to adapt to US cultural norms. Few studies in higher education addressed the historical, comprehensive aspects of students’ identities. This research challenges the discursive essentialization of Korean international students by revealing their selective (re)covering of various self-images created through transnational experiences across South Korea and the U.S.

Author

• Jungyeol Park, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities