Text

theses

This dissertation examines the transnational lives of Korean educational migrants and their transition to adulthood by investigating questions such as: How do migrants manage their lives across borders? How do transnational engagements shape migrants’ sense of future? In contrast to most sociological research on transnational migration, which is heavily “adult-centered,” I pursue answers to these questions through the everyday lives of migrants in young adulthood who are no longer adolescents yet not fully self-sufficient adults. This liminality works as a double-edged sword: it gives young individuals a great deal of possibility and flexibility in their migratory lives, yet it introduces ambiguity and insecurity about their present and future states. My dissertation highlights distinct opportunities and challenges that the “in between” life stage brings to young migrants and how this shapes their migratory experience and life trajectories. I spent three years conducting ethnographic fieldwork in one young Korean migrant community in New Jersey. My findings suggest exploratory and personal developmental factors largely drove young Korean migrants’ transnational engagements. This finding differed from scholarly observations on “adult” migrants in whom well-defined goals primarily for material interests direct their migratory lives. The biggest aspiration of the young Korean migrants was to fashion a well-rounded global subjectivity. Consumption across borders was a medium through which they actualized their aspirations. Everyday interaction with same-age peers who had varied migration backgrounds multiplied reference points for being “well-rounded” and “global.” Through peer group socialization, they also shared “know-how” for navigating migratory life and made “toolkits” essential to their transition to adulthood. The products of these young migrants’ transnational engagements were often imageries or plans about their futures, which were largely oriented to global markets. Later, however, they learned their future projections were constrained by U.S. immigration policies, Korean citizenship policies, and job market conditions. My dissertation engages broad sociological debates on late modern society that contest settled or dichotomous definitions of immigration, citizenship, and identity. Furthermore, it speaks to an increasing number of young people who live for extended periods unanchored to traditional meanings of adulthood, citizenship, or nationality in pursuit of education, professional development, or self-actualization.

ETD_6832

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Young-Hee Song

doi:10.7282/T3251M6Z

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.