Dissertation Research: Institutionalizing Multi-Culturalism in South Korea

北卡罗莱纳大学博士生EuyRyung Jun将在Donald M. Nonini博士的指导下进行研究，研究在移民增加的情况下，多元文化主义的概念是如何发展和部署的。这项研究将在韩国进行，韩国因工作和结婚而移民的人数有所增加。“damunhwa”的意思是“多元文化”或“多元文化主义”，这一概念是由关注移民问题的非政府组织“移民中心”发展和推广的。有趣的是，这种做法更多地关注本地人口的自我转变，而不是移民遇到的问题。本研究将考察以多元文化主义为名开展的活动，以探索其起源、对韩国公民的影响以及对移民的影响。研究人员将在大首尔地区进行为期12个月的田野调查，使用民族志和历史方法的混合方法。主要的研究地点将包括移民中心、相关的州机构和与移民一起工作的公民。研究方法包括访谈、档案研究、文件分析和焦点小组。本研究的目的是检视韩国当地非政府组织的“damunhwa”实践与差异容忍和权利的伦理规范之间的关系，以及它们如何重新配置或不重新配置韩国文化差异的政治和伦理领域。这项研究很重要，因为它将有助于围绕国际移民的实践形成一种新的比较社会科学，包括多元文化主义和人权，并有助于更好地理解非政府组织，它们对公共话语的影响，以及它们与国家的关系。除了这些理论贡献之外，本研究将有助于理解为帮助韩国及其他地区的社会少数群体而制定的政策的更大后果。这项研究也将有助于社会科学家的教育。

University of North Carolina doctoral student, EuyRyung Jun, under the guidance of Dr. Donald M. Nonini, will undertake research on how the idea of multiculturalism is developed and deployed in the wake of increased immigration. The research will be carried out in South Korea, which has experienced an increase in immigration for work and marriage. The notion of "damunhwa," which means "multi-culture" or "multiculturalism," as been developed and promoted by migrant centers, which are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concerned with immigrant issues. Interestingly, such practices focus more on the self-transformation of the native population than on problems encountered by migrants. This research will examine the activites pursued in the name of multiculturalism to explore their origins, their effects on the South Korean citizenry, and their consequences for immigrants. The researcher will undertake twelve months of fieldwork in the greater Seoul area using a mix of ethnographic and historic methods. Primary research sites will include the migrant centers, related state agencies, and citizens involved in working with migrants. Research methdologies include interviews, archival research, document analysis, and focus groups. The research objectives are to examine the relationship between local NGOs' damunhwa practices and the ethical normativity of tolerance of, and rights to, difference, and how they reconfigure or not the political and ethical fields of cultural difference in South Korea.This research is important because it will contribute to a new comparative social science of practices surrounding international immigration, including multiculturalism and human rights, and to better understanding of NGOs, their effects on public discourse, and their relationship to the state. In addition to these theoretical contributions, this study will help to understand the larger consequences of policies developed to help social minorities in Korea and beyond. The research also will contribute to the education of a social scientist.