Manufacturing Kinship in a Nation Divided: An Ethnographic Study of North Korean Refugees in South Korea

Bell, Markus

doi:10.1080/14442213.2013.789070

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The number of secondary asylum seekers is unknown to the authors as it is not publicly available. There exists a handful of policy-oriented case studies on North Korean migration (Robinson 2010, Yuan 2011, Cohen 2012) and a growing corpus of ethnographic research speaking to North Korean secondary migration (Choo 2006, Chung 2008, Bell 2013a, 2013b, Jung 2013, Koo 2016).…”

Section: Onward Asylum: a Global Trend And A Case From North Koreamentioning

confidence: 99%

North Korean secondary asylum in the UK

Song

Bell

2018

Migration Studies

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The number of North Korean secondary migrants from South Korea has grown markedly in the last ten years. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory observation conducted between 2012-2017, this article explores the motivations for North Korean secondary migration and the role of transnational networks in the migration and settlement trajectory. Our findings suggest that many North Koreans in South Korea feel discriminated against due to their origins, and unable to engage in upward social mobility. We argue that North Korean secondary migration to the United Kingdom (UK) is not a linear process of push and pull factors but a highly reactive and unpredictable one that depends on information fed by brokers. The UK hosts one of the largest communities of North Koreans outside Northeast Asia. Most North Koreans in the UK are secondary asylum seekers from South Korea. Their life in the UK, however, comes with its own set of challenges, some of which mirror co-ethnic or ideological frictions among North Koreans themselves, with the Korean-Chinese, or with South Koreans. This paper contributes to debates on multiple migration, providing a migrant-centric perspective to answer why people who are offered material benefits in the country they arrive in choose to on-migrate to a place where life can be often more challenging.

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Section: Onward Asylum: a Global Trend And A Case From North Koreamentioning

confidence: 99%

North Korean secondary asylum in the UK

Song

Bell

2018

Migration Studies

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“…Do the redemptive qualities of exile and return also apply to North Koreans outside their country? North Koreans who flee for South Korea often find themselves at a cross roads, in terms of their cultural identity (Bell 2013(Bell , 2014. Many prefer to hide their North Korean origins rather than risk rejection by South Koreans.…”

Section: Ethnic Identity In the Spotlightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reimagining the Homeland: Zainichi Koreans’ Transnational Longing for North Korea

Bell¹

2018

The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology

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This paper explores the changing relationship of diaspora to the homeland. In particular, this article focuses on the changing relationship of pro-North Korea, Zainichi Koreans (Koreans in Japan) towards North Korea. Many Koreans in Japan continue to identify with North Korea, but the nature of this relationship has changed, due to shifting generational attitudes towards both the host society and North Korea. A dance recital I witnessed in an ethnic Korean high school in Japan exemplifies these changes. I suggest that the symbols highlighted within the recital articulate a particular form of political-ethnic identity that is characterised by a long distance nationalism, but without the desire to return to the homeland. Based on a year of ethnographic fieldwork with members of the pro-North Korea organisation, Ch'ongry n, this paper explores how diasporic groups construct, negotiate, and reproduce identity in relation to nation states and transnational processes.

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“…Among the migrants themselves, on the other hand, "chayu ichumin" (free or voluntary migrants) is the most preferred of the wealth of other Korean and English names for them . Reflecting the subjectivity of North Koreans, in this study, I refer to them in English as North Korean "migrants" rather than "defectors," "refugees," or "border crossers," all of which have been used more frequently in academic as well as mass media articles (see, e.g., Bell 2013;Green and Epstein 2013;Ko, Chung, and Oh 2004;Lankov 2004Lankov , 2006. The use of such a name also reflects my intention to frame this study from the perspectives of diaspora and migration studies, since I consider North Korean migration, especially for those who moved to the South, to have the dual or in-between characteristics of "forced" and "voluntary" migration.…”

Section: North Korean Migration To South Koreamentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling Nations and Citizenship: Meaning, Creativity, and the Performance of a North Korean Troupe in South Korea

Koo¹

2016

J of Asian Stud

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Since 2000, a number of performing troupes have been established in South Korea, made up largely of musicians and dancers who were professionally trained in North Korea prior to their migration and presenting a range of music and dances related to both the North and South. Combining ethnographic data with performance analysis of one such troupe, the Pyŏngyang Minsok Yesultan, I show how the nation and the state intersect in the space of performing arts as the troupe's creative culture reflects the settlement experiences of North Koreans in the South. While the troupe's organization, membership, and performance culture delineate migrant adaptation and understanding of their new citizenship, the performance of these Koreans is a complex terrain in which the two Koreas converge and are contested as the performers enact a constant negotiation between “being” and “negating” North Korean-ness, expressing their cultural hybridity as emergent citizens of the South.

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Manufacturing Kinship in a Nation Divided: An Ethnographic Study of North Korean Refugees in South Korea

Cited by 17 publications

References 4 publications

North Korean secondary asylum in the UK

North Korean secondary asylum in the UK

Reimagining the Homeland: Zainichi Koreans’ Transnational Longing for North Korea

Reconciling Nations and Citizenship: Meaning, Creativity, and the Performance of a North Korean Troupe in South Korea

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