재외한인 연구의 성찰과 과제

Abstract

Korean emigration already has a history of over 150 years, and at present, July 2019, the counts are as high as 7.4 million. Overseas Koreans each have various emigration backgrounds and they have been leading different lives according to the country they moved to. Up to this day, there has been numerous studies conducted on their emigration history and present living conditions, and from time to time there has been studies that summed up the researches and inquiries conducted up until then. The number of researchers studying about Overseas Koreans have continuously increased, including researchers who are Overseas Koreans themselves. However, it is true that the subjects of study haven’t been expensive compared to the increase in the number of researchers. In fact, when one looks into the subjects of the studies conducted up to this day, one can summarize them as: background reason for emigration, characteristics of emigrants, emigrants’ motherland identity, and emigrants’ acculturation. Commonly, one can assume that the explicit objective of not insisting on the borders of countries or races is inherent in emigration as today’s transnational act itself. It is true that people with such awareness is increasing within Overseas Koreans. Nevertheless, studies on Overseas Koreans haven’t been able to fully cross the borders between countries or races. Such aspects suggest that in order for studies on Overseas Koreans to develop further, the researchers need to ensure the diversity of the topics being studied.