The Making of Multicultural Korea: Evangelical Protestant Women’s Perception of Ethnic Migrants

• In Event: 1580 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Evangelicals and Evangelicalism

Abstract

Under neoliberal global pressure to restructure its economy, the Korean government’s multicultural policies have not yet generated public tolerance of ethnic migrants. Scholarly debates on the making of multiculturalism have only been structured around a “state-initiative” versus “civil society initiative” thesis. A few scholars have examined women activists as important subjects of empowering and advocating minority women’s rights, expanding civil society. Until recently, religious women’s responses to ethnic migrants have not received much scholarly attention. To fill this gap, my project brings a gendered perspective to the making of multiculturalism in Korea. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with women in Evangelical Protestant Church in South Korea, I examine how women’s cosmopolitan, religious, and motherhood identities interactively shape their perceptions of ethnic migrants. I find that religious mothers who are highly educated and have international experience are more likely to show tolerance and respect for ethnic migrants. These mothers employ ‘priceless children’ discourses, where all children, including undocumented ones, are precious, and also ‘remembering blessings’ discourses, in which Koreans need to return God’s blessing of Korea to current ethnic migrants. These women have transformed themselves into committed helpers, embracing migrants in Korea. In this study, I argue that women's identities that are attached to class, religiosity, motherhood, and transnational experience operate together to produce their perceptions of ethnic migrants, rather than having an independent effect on their viewpoints.

Author

• Gowoon Jung, State University of New York-Albany