Koreans’ Perceptions of Mexico and Mexicans: A View from the US-Mexico Border

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table Three: Racialized and Ethnic Migration, Immigration, and Social Integration

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth interviews with Korean immigrants living and working in the US-Mexico border region, this paper analyzes Koreans’ diverse perceptions of Mexico and Mexicans. Koreans’ intergroup relations with other racial minorities, such as Blacks and Latinos, in the United States have drawn scholarly attention, but the existing literature has not extensively examined what could explain different attitudes among Koreans toward other racial minorities. Koreans in the US-Mexico border region primarily consist of recent immigrants from South Korea or other parts of the United States as well as Latin America, and they usually moved to the region to engage in the transborder economy. That is, they usually are in frequent contact with Mexicans as employees, customers, or neighbors. This paper finds that depending on Korean immigrants’ backgrounds, devotion schemas, and their linguistic familiarity, Koreans embody diverse attitudes toward Mexicans and Mexico.

Author

• Minjeong Kim, San Diego State University