(Re)Inventing “Inyeon” as a Korean Ethico-Onto-Epistemology for Qualitative Research: Toward Indigenizing Post-Qualitative Inquiry

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Inquiry Driven by Cultural Ways of Knowing (Table 6)

Abstract

This paper aims to initiate a conceptual dialogue about the Korean cultural practice of inyeon and its implications for (post-)qualitative research. The concept of inyeon, rooted in Buddhism, suggests inter-existence and inter-penetration with others. This paper suggests inyeon as a Korean ethico-onto-epistemology for indigenizing post-qualitative inquiry. The authors draw upon individual and collective reflective writings about inyeon and Korean literature and media texts about it. Inyeon makes us mindful of our capacities as educators and researchers and humble about what we observe and understand, engaging with our entangled relationships with participants, materials, contexts, analysis, and findings in research. It also requires a commitment to deeper and even unseen connections and influences that shape our research, experiences, and research topics.

Authors

• Dugyum Kim, University of Minnesota

• Younkyung Hong, Ball State University