Princeton University, Ph.D. in Sociology Korea Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, Osaka University Supervisors: King-to Yeung, Douglas Massey, Alejandro Portes, and Gilbert Rozman
With the rapid influx of labor migration and accelerating rates of
globalization, studies of hege... more With the rapid influx of labor migration and accelerating rates of globalization, studies of hegemonic masculinity have become increasingly divided in representing the amount of agency marginalized men have access to in constructing alternative, more hybrid masculine ideals as they travel overseas. This paper offers a new methodological approach for studying hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, we analyze how multiple forces at the st ruct ural , i nt er personal , and i nd i vi d ual levels work together as a system of oppression. As our case study, we focus on African bachelors who have migrated to South Korea to fill the demand for 3‐d (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) labor. By analyzing 30 interviews and two years of ethnographic observation of African migrants in Korea, our study demonstrates how migrant men become trapped by their desires to perform their masculine worth as reliable wage laborers, even at the cost of their physical and emotional well‐ being. While past studies on undocumented migrant workers in Korea have highlighted their heightened exposure to institutional violence, we shed light on how structural forces also bleed into the private spaces of everyday life, shaping the intimate relationships and personal desires of marginalized men themselves.
While high rates of intra-Asian migration have rendered foreign migrants physically "invisible" i... more While high rates of intra-Asian migration have rendered foreign migrants physically "invisible" in the past, migrants of increasingly racially diverse backgrounds have started to enter South Korea in the past decade. Through in-depth interviews with sub-Saharan African migrants, this article examines the effects of colorism on three levels of migrant adaptation: 1) host government legal policies, 2) host societal reception, and 3) resources within the migrant community. Findings reveal that African migrants, compared to their lighter skinned Asian counterparts, are more vulnerable to precarious living conditions regardless of their legal, educational, or occupational backgrounds. In addition, Africans also lack resources in South Korean civil society as well as within the African migrant community, and thus face formidable barriers in collective resistance. Harsh discrimination in everyday life causes many to adopt maladaptive behaviorsresisting linguistic acquisition and adopting a sojourner orientation-triggering a negative feedback loop that exacerbates their oppression.
Why has right-wing activism in Japan, despite its persistence throughout the postwar era, only ga... more Why has right-wing activism in Japan, despite its persistence throughout the postwar era, only gained significant traction recently? Focusing on the Zaitokukai, an anti-Korean movement in Japan, this article demonstrates how the new Far Right were able to popularize formerly stigmatized right-wing ideas. The Zaitokukai represents a political group distinct from the traditional Right and reflective of new Far Right movements spreading worldwide. In Japan, concerns about the growing influence of South Korea and China in the 1980s as well as the decline of left-wing norms opened up a discursive opportunity for the new Far Right. By framing Korean postcolonial minorities as undeserving recipients of social welfare benefits, the Zaitokukai mobilized perceptions of threat that has continued to powerfully influence public perceptions of Koreans even following the group's organizational decline. While past research has focused on the new Far Right's political influence, this article stresses their roles as ideological entrepreneurs.
This article focuses on the case of anti-Korean sentiment and the rise of an ultra-nationalist "n... more This article focuses on the case of anti-Korean sentiment and the rise of an ultra-nationalist "netizen" (a citizen of the Internet) movement in Japan-a topic which resonates particularly in South Korea, where images of anti-Korean attitudes in Japan abound exacerbating Japan-ROK relations. In particular, the article advances two objectives. First, it addresses the ambiguity in understanding the rise of Japanese right-wing extremism-namely, what issues triggered their emergence and breadth of influence. Some argue that emotional and extreme expressions of rage over history are recent-they point to trends of neoliberal market reform and the advent of the internet. Others argue that these sentiments are rooted in a long trajectory of resentment over colonization. Are the tensions triggered by increasing nationalism, or concerns over economic decline? Questions also abound as to who is driving this phenomenon and the nature of the impact they have on shaping the perceptions of mainstream Japanese. Is the movement propelled by a small group of economically precarious extremists who are largely isolated from Japanese society or is the scope of their influence much more ex-pansive? Answers to these questions can shed light on Japanese extremism as well as Korean views of Japan. Second, the article problematizes the tendency to examine this phenomenon primarily in terms of domestic politics and from the perspective of elite state actors.
The chaebol’s organisational culture was the target of much criticism
when the Asian financial cr... more The chaebol’s organisational culture was the target of much criticism when the Asian financial crisis hit the Korean economy in 1997. Despite much research on the topic over the past two decades, there continues to be a lack of consensus on the efficacy of reforms implemented since then. While some have focused on persisting patterns of paternalism, others have highlighted the structural changes implemented. This article revisits this debate by analysing the ways in which culture influences the implementation of structural reforms as a legitimating ideology. By analysing ethnographic data of a chaebol subsidiary in Beijing, the article demonstrates how cultural tropes of the company as a family and women as caretakers, popularised under the Park Chung Hee regime, have continued to shape perceptions of competence in the workplace. In particular, despite the crucial role that Korean Chinese employees have played in helping the chaebol penetrate Chinese markets, their bilingual and bicultural skills are devalued. Instead, the feminisation of their labour has justified their continuing marginalisation in the firm.
Previous research shows that transnational entrepreneurs move between home and host societies, ta... more Previous research shows that transnational entrepreneurs move between home and host societies, taking advantage of new markets, currency differentials, and transnational resources. This paper problematizes current theories that stress the importance of human capital in transnational entrepreneurship, by highlighting the powerful role that cultural skills can play in the mobilization of resources. Using ethnographic, interview, and survey data from transnational firms in Beijing's Korean enclave, the paper compares the experiences of South Korean and Korean Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing, and demonstrates how Korean Chinese, who have lower levels of human capital and material resources, are able to achieve upward mobility by using their positions as cultural middlemen whereas the South Korean entrepreneurs, despite better access to seed money, education, and entrepreneurial experience, are crippled by their limited cultural knowledge.
Past sociological theories on race and ethnicity have attributed the persistence of racial discri... more Past sociological theories on race and ethnicity have attributed the persistence of racial discrimination to physical, and presumably immutable, features of racial identification. Thus, despite the decline of institutional forms of racism, scholars have pointed to enduring patterns of marginalization among racially distinct minorities in a variety of different measures. This paper finds that contrary to theories which purport to predict a decline in racial discrimination with the increasing physical indistinguishability of minorities, culturally assimilated Korean minorities in Japan and Chinese minorities in Korea continue to experience marginalization due to nationality laws that exclude on the basis of ancestry as opposed to place of residence or birth. The paper proposes that rather than physical markers of race, legal and societal definitions of in-group membership and nationhood play more definitive roles in perpetuating the discrimination of minorities in society.
With the rapid influx of labor migration and accelerating rates of
globalization, studies of hege... more With the rapid influx of labor migration and accelerating rates of globalization, studies of hegemonic masculinity have become increasingly divided in representing the amount of agency marginalized men have access to in constructing alternative, more hybrid masculine ideals as they travel overseas. This paper offers a new methodological approach for studying hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, we analyze how multiple forces at the st ruct ural , i nt er personal , and i nd i vi d ual levels work together as a system of oppression. As our case study, we focus on African bachelors who have migrated to South Korea to fill the demand for 3‐d (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) labor. By analyzing 30 interviews and two years of ethnographic observation of African migrants in Korea, our study demonstrates how migrant men become trapped by their desires to perform their masculine worth as reliable wage laborers, even at the cost of their physical and emotional well‐ being. While past studies on undocumented migrant workers in Korea have highlighted their heightened exposure to institutional violence, we shed light on how structural forces also bleed into the private spaces of everyday life, shaping the intimate relationships and personal desires of marginalized men themselves.
While high rates of intra-Asian migration have rendered foreign migrants physically "invisible" i... more While high rates of intra-Asian migration have rendered foreign migrants physically "invisible" in the past, migrants of increasingly racially diverse backgrounds have started to enter South Korea in the past decade. Through in-depth interviews with sub-Saharan African migrants, this article examines the effects of colorism on three levels of migrant adaptation: 1) host government legal policies, 2) host societal reception, and 3) resources within the migrant community. Findings reveal that African migrants, compared to their lighter skinned Asian counterparts, are more vulnerable to precarious living conditions regardless of their legal, educational, or occupational backgrounds. In addition, Africans also lack resources in South Korean civil society as well as within the African migrant community, and thus face formidable barriers in collective resistance. Harsh discrimination in everyday life causes many to adopt maladaptive behaviorsresisting linguistic acquisition and adopting a sojourner orientation-triggering a negative feedback loop that exacerbates their oppression.
Why has right-wing activism in Japan, despite its persistence throughout the postwar era, only ga... more Why has right-wing activism in Japan, despite its persistence throughout the postwar era, only gained significant traction recently? Focusing on the Zaitokukai, an anti-Korean movement in Japan, this article demonstrates how the new Far Right were able to popularize formerly stigmatized right-wing ideas. The Zaitokukai represents a political group distinct from the traditional Right and reflective of new Far Right movements spreading worldwide. In Japan, concerns about the growing influence of South Korea and China in the 1980s as well as the decline of left-wing norms opened up a discursive opportunity for the new Far Right. By framing Korean postcolonial minorities as undeserving recipients of social welfare benefits, the Zaitokukai mobilized perceptions of threat that has continued to powerfully influence public perceptions of Koreans even following the group's organizational decline. While past research has focused on the new Far Right's political influence, this article stresses their roles as ideological entrepreneurs.
This article focuses on the case of anti-Korean sentiment and the rise of an ultra-nationalist "n... more This article focuses on the case of anti-Korean sentiment and the rise of an ultra-nationalist "netizen" (a citizen of the Internet) movement in Japan-a topic which resonates particularly in South Korea, where images of anti-Korean attitudes in Japan abound exacerbating Japan-ROK relations. In particular, the article advances two objectives. First, it addresses the ambiguity in understanding the rise of Japanese right-wing extremism-namely, what issues triggered their emergence and breadth of influence. Some argue that emotional and extreme expressions of rage over history are recent-they point to trends of neoliberal market reform and the advent of the internet. Others argue that these sentiments are rooted in a long trajectory of resentment over colonization. Are the tensions triggered by increasing nationalism, or concerns over economic decline? Questions also abound as to who is driving this phenomenon and the nature of the impact they have on shaping the perceptions of mainstream Japanese. Is the movement propelled by a small group of economically precarious extremists who are largely isolated from Japanese society or is the scope of their influence much more ex-pansive? Answers to these questions can shed light on Japanese extremism as well as Korean views of Japan. Second, the article problematizes the tendency to examine this phenomenon primarily in terms of domestic politics and from the perspective of elite state actors.
The chaebol’s organisational culture was the target of much criticism
when the Asian financial cr... more The chaebol’s organisational culture was the target of much criticism when the Asian financial crisis hit the Korean economy in 1997. Despite much research on the topic over the past two decades, there continues to be a lack of consensus on the efficacy of reforms implemented since then. While some have focused on persisting patterns of paternalism, others have highlighted the structural changes implemented. This article revisits this debate by analysing the ways in which culture influences the implementation of structural reforms as a legitimating ideology. By analysing ethnographic data of a chaebol subsidiary in Beijing, the article demonstrates how cultural tropes of the company as a family and women as caretakers, popularised under the Park Chung Hee regime, have continued to shape perceptions of competence in the workplace. In particular, despite the crucial role that Korean Chinese employees have played in helping the chaebol penetrate Chinese markets, their bilingual and bicultural skills are devalued. Instead, the feminisation of their labour has justified their continuing marginalisation in the firm.
Previous research shows that transnational entrepreneurs move between home and host societies, ta... more Previous research shows that transnational entrepreneurs move between home and host societies, taking advantage of new markets, currency differentials, and transnational resources. This paper problematizes current theories that stress the importance of human capital in transnational entrepreneurship, by highlighting the powerful role that cultural skills can play in the mobilization of resources. Using ethnographic, interview, and survey data from transnational firms in Beijing's Korean enclave, the paper compares the experiences of South Korean and Korean Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing, and demonstrates how Korean Chinese, who have lower levels of human capital and material resources, are able to achieve upward mobility by using their positions as cultural middlemen whereas the South Korean entrepreneurs, despite better access to seed money, education, and entrepreneurial experience, are crippled by their limited cultural knowledge.
Past sociological theories on race and ethnicity have attributed the persistence of racial discri... more Past sociological theories on race and ethnicity have attributed the persistence of racial discrimination to physical, and presumably immutable, features of racial identification. Thus, despite the decline of institutional forms of racism, scholars have pointed to enduring patterns of marginalization among racially distinct minorities in a variety of different measures. This paper finds that contrary to theories which purport to predict a decline in racial discrimination with the increasing physical indistinguishability of minorities, culturally assimilated Korean minorities in Japan and Chinese minorities in Korea continue to experience marginalization due to nationality laws that exclude on the basis of ancestry as opposed to place of residence or birth. The paper proposes that rather than physical markers of race, legal and societal definitions of in-group membership and nationhood play more definitive roles in perpetuating the discrimination of minorities in society.
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Papers by Sharon Yoon
globalization, studies of hegemonic masculinity have become
increasingly divided in representing the amount of agency marginalized
men have access to in constructing alternative, more hybrid masculine
ideals as they travel overseas. This paper offers a new methodological
approach for studying hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, we analyze
how multiple forces at the st ruct ural , i nt er personal , and i nd i vi d ual
levels work together as a system of oppression. As our case study, we
focus on African bachelors who have migrated to South Korea to fill the
demand for 3‐d (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) labor. By analyzing 30
interviews and two years of ethnographic observation of African
migrants in Korea, our study demonstrates how migrant men become
trapped by their desires to perform their masculine worth as reliable
wage laborers, even at the cost of their physical and emotional well‐
being. While past studies on undocumented migrant workers in Korea
have highlighted their heightened exposure to institutional violence,
we shed light on how structural forces also bleed into the private
spaces of everyday life, shaping the intimate relationships and
personal desires of marginalized men themselves.
when the Asian financial crisis hit the Korean economy in
1997. Despite much research on the topic over the past two
decades, there continues to be a lack of consensus on the efficacy
of reforms implemented since then. While some have focused on
persisting patterns of paternalism, others have highlighted the
structural changes implemented. This article revisits this debate
by analysing the ways in which culture influences the implementation
of structural reforms as a legitimating ideology. By analysing
ethnographic data of a chaebol subsidiary in Beijing, the article
demonstrates how cultural tropes of the company as a family and
women as caretakers, popularised under the Park Chung Hee
regime, have continued to shape perceptions of competence in
the workplace. In particular, despite the crucial role that Korean
Chinese employees have played in helping the chaebol penetrate
Chinese markets, their bilingual and bicultural skills are devalued.
Instead, the feminisation of their labour has justified their continuing
marginalisation in the firm.
Book Reviews by Sharon Yoon
globalization, studies of hegemonic masculinity have become
increasingly divided in representing the amount of agency marginalized
men have access to in constructing alternative, more hybrid masculine
ideals as they travel overseas. This paper offers a new methodological
approach for studying hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, we analyze
how multiple forces at the st ruct ural , i nt er personal , and i nd i vi d ual
levels work together as a system of oppression. As our case study, we
focus on African bachelors who have migrated to South Korea to fill the
demand for 3‐d (dirty, difficult, and dangerous) labor. By analyzing 30
interviews and two years of ethnographic observation of African
migrants in Korea, our study demonstrates how migrant men become
trapped by their desires to perform their masculine worth as reliable
wage laborers, even at the cost of their physical and emotional well‐
being. While past studies on undocumented migrant workers in Korea
have highlighted their heightened exposure to institutional violence,
we shed light on how structural forces also bleed into the private
spaces of everyday life, shaping the intimate relationships and
personal desires of marginalized men themselves.
when the Asian financial crisis hit the Korean economy in
1997. Despite much research on the topic over the past two
decades, there continues to be a lack of consensus on the efficacy
of reforms implemented since then. While some have focused on
persisting patterns of paternalism, others have highlighted the
structural changes implemented. This article revisits this debate
by analysing the ways in which culture influences the implementation
of structural reforms as a legitimating ideology. By analysing
ethnographic data of a chaebol subsidiary in Beijing, the article
demonstrates how cultural tropes of the company as a family and
women as caretakers, popularised under the Park Chung Hee
regime, have continued to shape perceptions of competence in
the workplace. In particular, despite the crucial role that Korean
Chinese employees have played in helping the chaebol penetrate
Chinese markets, their bilingual and bicultural skills are devalued.
Instead, the feminisation of their labour has justified their continuing
marginalisation in the firm.