Navigating New Territories for West African Women in South Korea: Characteristics of Place and Parenting Challenges

• In Event: Migration and Place

Abstract

While globalization has facilitated a greater migration to various destinations, African immigrants often employ informal alternatives due to the shrinking formal immigration opportunities in affluent countries. Korea, long known for its racial homogeneity, is slowly changing into a multicultural society. This chapter begins by discussing the location of West Africans living in Sogukdong neighborhood, Dongducheon City in Korea who settled in areas near US military camps and provides historical context for their migration to this particular city. This chapter also elaborates on the difficulties and uncertainties created by the complexity of Korea’s immigration policies and how it affects and dims the aspirations of African women. Lastly, the chapter explores how West African mothers manage their children’s language interpreting work. Based on in-depth interviews with thirteen West African mothers, this chapter attempts to understand how African immigrants in a racially homogeneous East Asian society employ practical strategies to document their residence status amid shifting immigration policies, and how this process reshapes family dynamics.

Author

• Jiwon Choi, University at Albany, SUNY