Negotiating Race and Masculinity across Borders: A Transnational Examination of Korean American Masculinities

• In Event: 335 - Regular Session. Varieties of Asian American Experience: Qualitative Investigations

Abstract

Ethnic return migration is understood as the relocation of the later generations of a diasporic group to an ethnic homeland. Recent studies on ethnic return migration have explained why (economic, political, and affective) and where (Asia) this phenomenon has primarily occurred. Of the research available, few have examined the racialized and gendered nature of ethnic return migration, and how these constructs impact the trajectory of migrants long before and after the act of relocating. This study fills this void by examining how Korean American male ethnic return migrants understand and negotiate their racialized masculine identities as they cross national borders. Using data from in-depth qualitative interviews with members of this population, this study elaborates on the ways in which race and gender remain salient constructs throughout the entirety of the “homecoming” process.

Author

• Stephen Cho Suh, University of Minnesota