Blurred Citizenship: The Experience of Transnational Korean Students

• In Event: 505 - Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Globalization in Education

Abstract

Scholars have examined the impact of transnationalism and nationalism on shaping the flexible citizenship of international students, but they have not paid much attention to why variations exist in the acceptance of flexible cultural citizenships within the same ethnicity. Moreover, as more students are traveling abroad to develop their language skills and pursue advanced degrees in the global knowledge economy, so the age range of such students has broadened including youth and adolescents. This study characterizes how international students enrolled at a college develop different degrees of citizenship constructed by socialization processes at different ages and how the experience shapes their view of citizenship. The study focuses on eight semi-structured interviews with Korean undergraduate students enrolled at State University of New York at Albany. International students present different perceptions on citizenship according to how long they have been in the United States and their age of entry: as socially floating individuals who move back and forth across countries in search of better jobs and life opportunities but also as culturally attached Koreans who retain a sense of respect to Korea. I argue that international students negotiate their cultural citizenship, their “being Koreanness,” differently because of their varying socialization stages. Based on their year of entry and the length of time spent in the United States, students either develop a strong depth of attachment to “Koreanness” or, as they move into adulthood, detach themselves from “Koreanness.”

Author

• Gowoon Jung, State University of New York-Albany