This research examines how the counterpublics in personal blogs written by adult South Korean adoptees illuminate processes of accepting and rejecting their racial, ethnic, and adoptive identities....Show moreThis research examines how the counterpublics in personal blogs written by adult South Korean adoptees illuminate processes of accepting and rejecting their racial, ethnic, and adoptive identities. Through counterpublics, members of subordinate groups create and spread narratives that diverge from the dominant discourses. Since the late 1990s, with the growth of the international adoptee community, adoptees have started to regain their voices through counterpublics on online platforms. Using the framework of corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS), the blogs of adult South Korean adoptees were analysed. The main themes were identified with word list and Keyword-in-Context (KWIC) tools. Narrative and identity analysis revealed the complicated emotions connected to being adopted and found that the adoptees’ self-claimed identities were more complex than the identities imposed by others. Through exploration of Korean heritage, culture, and engagement in the adoptee community, the adoptees changed their self-identification and attitudes, leading to their gaining acceptance or even pride in their different identities.Show less
Thai international students have to form a sense of belonging and a sense of place during their stay in the host city to feel as a part of society. The paper tries to understand differences in...Show moreThai international students have to form a sense of belonging and a sense of place during their stay in the host city to feel as a part of society. The paper tries to understand differences in process of forming a sense of belonging and a sense of place. Moreover, the paper also focuses on how the process of forming a sense of belonging and a sense of place are relevant to identity development. A literature review is used to explain relevant concepts such as superdiversity, multiculturalism, individualism, collectivism, and bicultural bilinguals. These concepts will be mainly used to understand what Thai international students experience and how it affects them in the process of forming a sense of belonging, a sense of place, and a new identity. An one on one qualitative interview is conducted. The sampling selection methods are purposive and snowball sampling with the number of three participants in each city.Show less
There are many artists in the Korean music industry, but black-Korean singers are not often represented thus far. With an increase in multicultural families in South Korea, this group of people is...Show moreThere are many artists in the Korean music industry, but black-Korean singers are not often represented thus far. With an increase in multicultural families in South Korea, this group of people is likely to grow as well in the near future. In order to explore the role of black-Korean individuals in a Korean context, this thesis researched singer Insooni and her ethnic identity development. Phinney’s ethnic identity model was used to assess how Insooni’s identity likely developed throughout her career as a singer. Phinney’s research focused on two main factors called “exploration” and commitment”. Depending on a high or low level for both factors, this results in four possible identity stages: diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure and achievement. This thesis concluded that Insooni likely went through a dynamic development process, described as such by Phinney. The singer may have shown more interest in her Korean ethnicity at first, but as time went on, her exploration and commitment levels for both her Korean and African-American identity increased, which likely resulted in a multi-ethnic identity. This paper offered more insight on the topic of black-Korean individuals and their identity in Korean society.Show less
