Culture, Gender, and Power in the Transnational Subjectivities of Filipina Migrant Wives in South Korea

• In Event: 378 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session II
  In Refereed Roundtable: B. Table 13. Immigration and Work

Abstract

“Marriage migration” of “foreign brides” into South Korea has recently gained scholarly attention (e.g., Bélanger et al., 2010). For blue-collar men, the changing status of women has lessened the availability of marriageable Korean women. This social decoupling has various labels, such as “marriage squeeze” (Hugo & Nguyen, 2007). As one response, marriage between Korean men and Southeast Asian women (e.g., Philippines) is increasing, counterintuitive to the cultural archetype of ethnic homogeneity (H-S. Kim, 2010). Researchers have begun to examine these relationships which, reflecting an earlier era of men seeking foreign brides, have been referred to as the “Mail-Order Bride” (MOB) phenomenon (Lu, 2005). As more literature on Korea concerns macro-level impacts of labor migrant flows, we address the paucity of research on the subjective narratives of Southeast Asian migrant wives (M-W. Lee, 2006). Through a gendered perspective (Pessar & Mahler, 2003), we illustrate how wives ascribe meaning to their transnationalities. Twenty-three in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with Filipina migrant wives and key informants in a Korean metropolis. We then conducted a “constant comparison analysis” (Strauss, 1987) to distill emergent themes grounded in data and theories. Findings include: 1) A lack of cultural foreknowledge on Korea prior to immigration, 2) simultaneous motivation for intimacy and socioeconomic aspirations (e.g., Constable, 2009), 3) negotiation of contradictory statuses (e.g., Lan, 2003) in context of family and community, and 4) being in between multiple spaces that create possibilities, as well as oppression (e.g., Bhabha, 2004). Implications for gender and social change are discussed (Schuerkens, 2005).

Authors

• Andrew Young Choi, University of California-Santa Barbara

• Kim M. Korinek, University of Utah