The Transformation Of Identification Of Korean Ethnic Group During The Transnational Interaction

With the developing global economic integration and the increasingly frequent transnational activities, the ethnic issue has attracted attentions from all circles. The identification issue Chinese Korean ethnic group faces during the international communication is one typical case due to its pluralistic identification. Former researchers have distinguished and illustrated the pluralism of the identification of the Chinese Korean ethnic group working in South Korea, but they emphasized too much on the consistency of identification transformation but neglected the complexity of identification on different aspects as well as the multi-dimension and dynamics of national and ethnic identification during the international interaction.This article studied the identification issue of the Chinese Korean ethnic group working in South Korea. With the participant observation and depth interview, the author found that the Chinese Korean ethnic group working in South Korea had multi-dimensional identification during transnational interaction:its identification with China as its motherland, its identification with the Korean nation as a trans-border nation, and its identification with its ethnicity as one of Chinese ethnic minorities all played important roles and were changing with the development of the international communication. This article compared the Chinese Korean ethnic group and Korean, the Chinese Korean ethnic group living in uni-ethnic areas and those in multi-ethnic areas, and the Chinese Korean ethnic group and the Han ethnic group in South Korea. The result of comparison showed that:to begin with, during the transnational interaction, due to suffering unfairness and rejection, the transnational ethnic identification of the Chinese Korean ethnic group decreased, while its identification as Chinese increased; but because of the indivisible kinship and cultural connection, the transnational ethnic identification didn’t disappear completely. Besides, the Chinese Korean ethnic group working in South Korea residing in uni-ethnic areas and those in multi-ethnic areas demonstrated different levels of identification with the Korean nation as a trans-border nation since they had different language speaking habits. Last but not least, compared with the Han ethnic group working in South Korea, the Chinese Korean ethnic group had advantages in language and culture, and to distinguish itself from the inferior Han ethnic group, its identification with its ethnicity as one of Chinese ethnic minorities was enhanced. The multi-dimension and dynamics of identification indicated that the Chinese Korean ethnic group stood out for its identification transformation during transnational interaction. The result helped understand the immigrants’identification issue during international communication in the context of globalization.