Description
Book SynopsisThis book illuminates the ways in which Korean immigrants in Australia express their identities through autobiographies, novels, church websites, and popular weekly magazines. Han's in-depth analysis is informed by the concepts of reflexivity and internal conversation from a tradition of critical realism.
Trade ReviewThis book breaks new ground in both migration studies and media studies by examining the role of various forms of media used by Korean immigrants in Australia. Gil-Soo Han draws on recent theories of identity formation, particularly Margaret Archer's model of "internal conversation," and sensitively explores the shifts from Korean to Korean-Australian transnational identities in his case studies. The case studies are drawn from a variety of media and cultural texts produced by Koreans in Australia: autobiography, fiction, journalism and church websites. Supplemented by interview data, and drawing on the author's own trajectory of identity formation as a Korean who migrated to Australia in the 1980s, these studies present a rich palette of migrants, sojourners, students and working holiday makers, from the 1980s to the present. This reveals clearly the shift from the migrant who uprooted herself from Korean society in the 1980s to contemporary young uncommitted visitors who lead fully transnational lives and inhabit transnational social spaces. Han argues that through acculturation all Korean migrants to Australia are continuously developing their transnational identities. The book uses cultural and media texts to produce an ethnography of Korean migrant experience in Australia, illuminating an expanding segment of the multicultural tapestry of Australian society. -- Alison Tokita, professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology
Table of ContentsPart 1 List of Figures Part 2 Preface Part 3 Notes on Korean Names and Romanisation of Korean Part 4 Abbreviations Chapter 5 Introduction Chapter 6 Theoretical Perspectives Chapter 7 "Beyond the Australian Dream": A Business Migrant's Reconstruction of Identities Chapter 8 Reflexivity and Identities in the Materialistic Korean Church as Depicted in Foolish Jesus Chapter 9 Mediation of Religion and Ethnicity through the Internet: Korean Church Websites in Melbourne Chapter 10 Imagining and Moving towards a Cross-Cultural Congregation: An Institutional Effort to Help Individuals Construct Identities Chapter 11 Fantasy, Aspirations and Satisfaction: Identities of Young Korean Sojourners as Portrayed in The Melbourne Sky Part 12 Epilogue Part 13 References Part 14 Index
