Strength-Based Approach to Increase Resilience Among Korean Cross-Cultural Kids Who Immigrated to the U.S

• In Event: A New Form of Educational Inequality in South Korea

Proposal

Objectives. Cross-Cultural Kids (CCKs) implies individuals who have spent significant time of their development period interacting and experiencing two or more cultures. There has been a significant number of students who move to another country by family immigration in South Korea. The CCKs are known to experience culture shock in the process of transition from one culture to another, and it is easy for them to experience cultural stress and maladjustment in schools during adaptation. Some studies point out that CCKs experience depression, anxiety and identity confusion in the process of cultural adaptation. Although CCKs have various aforementioned risks, they are students with a potential to play an important role in the Global Era. CCKs are known to have advantages, such as adaptability to the new environment, forming diverse values and a global worldview, and bilingualism, compared to children living in one culture who have no such experience. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the Korean CCKs’ resilience to acculturative stress in the United States, thereby providing implications for education and counseling intervention facilitating their adjustment.
Methods. A qualitative approach was adopted in order to have a contextual understanding of the Korean CCKs’ cultural adaptation experiences and resilience. Ground Theory was chosen because this method is effective in exploring the experience of Korean CCKs. In this study, the Korean CCKs are defined as Korean who moved to the United States in the adolescent period and have lived until now. Nine Korean CCKs participated in the semi-structured interview and the collected data was analyzed after transcribing the interview through the process of open coding and axial coding presented by Strauss and Corbin.
Results. Through axial coding, key experience was identified into six different categories such as causal conditions, contextual conditions, central phenomenon, intervening conditions, action-interactions and consequences. The resilient CCKs were found to utilize the following strategies: (1) Avoid challenges by reinterpreting or ignoring situations with emotion-focused coping rather than aggressive response, (2) Restore confidence by demonstrating one's strengths in mathematics, science, and physical education, (3) Feel fun and belonging through comfortable and diverse relationships and deep emotional exchanges with Korean friends, (4) Extend friendship by communicating online and offline through receptive American friends, and (5) Participate actively and increase an effort in all aspects of classes, activities, and relationships.
Conclusion. This study is meaningful in that it explores resilience associated with cultural adaptation of Korean CCKs. While the psychological and counseling approach so far has focused on improving the problems of maladjusted students, the emerging trend such as positive psychology including resilience has recently focused on maximizing hidden potential. Considering the fact that Korean CCKs are students with high potential growth due to their multicultural perspective, the results of this study will help maximize the potential of Korean CCKs and help them grow into a Global Era.

Authors

• IN SOO OH, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

• HEARAN LEE, Dept. of Education, Ewha Womans University

• SHINHYE RYU, Dept. of Education, Ewha Womans University

• SooYeon Yang, Dept. of Education, Ewha Womans University

• ARIN CHOI, Dept. of Education, Ewha Womans University

• Seunghye Hong, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health