Finding the "Korean Part": Reinforcing Ethnic and Cultural Boundaries in a Korean Language School

• In Event: 70.049 - Race and Equity Issues in Schools

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand how community-based institutions may, in their efforts to resist dominant assimilative forces, unintentionally reify ethnic boundaries. This ethnographic case study demonstrates that teachers in a Korean language school positioned non-adoptee students as cultural Koreans, expected to participate fully in Koreanness, while adoptees were seen as only ethnic Koreans who had to be introduced to what the school considered “Korean culture.” This led to distinct teaching practices and goals, which served to differentially transfer cultural capital. The findings suggest that community-based institutions may risk reifying cultural norms and alienating students who don’t fit them. The research also pushes us to reconsider static notions of culture and ethnicity and examine how institutional actors may reproduce such boundaries.

Author

• Eujin Park, University of Wisconsin - Madison