“Knocking on the door to integration”: Korean immigrants’ stories of seeking membership in Aotearoa New Zealand society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol33iss1id821Keywords:
Korean immigrants, membership, participation, social interaction, Straussian- grounded theory, symbolic interactionismAbstract
INTRODUCTION: While citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand are granted full participation regardless of racial and cultural background, Asian immigrants appear exempt from the benefits of inclusion. For many, immigration is a stress-inducing journey with resultant socio-economic marginalisation adversely impacting on their participation in society.
METHODS: Theoretically underpinned by symbolic interactionism, this Straussian-grounded theoretical study explored how nine South Koreans re-constructed life after immigration. Semi- structured interviews were analysed using open, axial and selective coding.
FINDINGS: To re-establish their lives, participants gradually “knock on the door to integration” while retaining a sense of safety in their ethnic community. This process continues until they find a place where they are recognised as a member of society. In this sense, “seeking membership” is what participants try to achieve in the host society.
CONCLUSION: If we want to be at the forefront of efforts to address ethnic minority groups’ life-challenges, social work practice must include specific competencies in assisting Asian immigrants, helping them to master their new surroundings and endorse their equal membership in society.
References
ANZASW. (2019). Code of ethics. https://anzasw.nz/ wp-content/uploads/Code-of-Ethics-Adopted-30- Aug-2019.pdf
Berry, J. W. (2008). Globalisation and acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(4), 328–336. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2008.04.001
Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Prentice-Hall.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Bowers, B. J. (1988). Grounded theory. In B. Sarter (Ed.), Paths to knowledge: Innovative research methods for nursing (pp. 33–59). National League for Nursing.
Castles, S., & Miller, M. (2009). The age of migration (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Chang, S., Morris, C., & Vokes, R. (2006). Korean migrant families in Christchurch: Expectations and experiences. The Families Commission.
Charon, J. M. (2010). Symbolic interactionism (10th ed.). Pearson.
Cheyne, C., O’Brien, M., & Belgrave, M. (2008). Social policy in Aotearoa New Zealand (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Corbin, J. (2009). Taking an analytic journey. In J. M. Morse, P. N. Stern, J. Corbin, B. Bowers, K. Charmaz, & A. E. Clarke (Eds.), Developing grounded theory: The second generation (pp. 35–54). Left Coast Press.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Department of Labour. (2004). Our future to together: New Zealand settlement strategy. Author. http://www.ssnz. govt.nz/publications/NZSettlementStrategy.pdf
Department of Labour. (2007). Settlement national action plan: New Zealand settlement strategy. Author. http://www.ssnz.govt.nz/publications/ NZSettlementActionPlan.pdf
Duncan, G. (2007). Society and politics: New Zealand social policy (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Epstein, S. (2006). Imagining the community: Newspapers, cyberspace and the (non-) construction of Korean-New Zealand identity. In H. Johnson & B. Moloughney (Eds.), Asia in the making of New Zealand (pp. 147–162). Auckland University Press.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Aldine de Gruyter.
Ho, E. (2015). The changing face of Asian people in New Zealand. New Zealand Population Review, 41, 95–118.
IFSW. (2014). Global definition of social work. https://www. ifsw.org/global-definition-of-social-work/
Jackson, K., & McRobie, A. (2005). Historical dictionary of New Zealand (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press.
Kate, A., Verbitshy, J., & Wilson, K. (2018). In different voices: Auckland refugee communities’ engagement with conflict resolution in New Zealand. Journal of International migration and Integration, 20(2), 459–477. doi:10.1007/s12134-018-0619-4
Kim, H., & Hocking, C. (2016). Attending to immigrants’ everyday activities: A new perspective on ensuring Asian immigrants’ quality of life. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 28(3), 57–66.
Kim, H., & Hocking, C. (2018). A grounded theory of Korean immigrants’ experiences of re-establishing everyday activities in New Zealand. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies 16(3), 255–274. doi:10.1080/15562948. 2016.1272732
King, M. (2003). History of New Zealand. The Penguin Group.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ROK). (2019). Korean diaspora. http://www.mofa.go.kr/www/wpge/m_21509/contents.do
Naderifar, M., Goli, H., & Ghaljaie, F. (2017). Snowball sampling: A purposeful method of sampling in qualitative research. Strides in Development of Medical Education, 14(3), 1–4. doi:10.5812/SDME.67670
Nayar, S. (2013). The treaty of Waitangi: Framing immigrants’ occupational practices in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Occupational Science, 20(4), 382–395. doi:10.1080/14427591.2013.801102
Palattiyil, G., Sidhva, D., Pawar, M., Shajahan, P., Cox, J., & Anand, J. (2019). Reclaiming international social work in the context of the global agenda for
social work and social development: Some critical reflections. International Social Work, 62(3), 1043–1054. doi:10.1177/0020872818774107
Park, H., & Anglem, J. (2012). The “trans-nationality” of Koreans, Korean families and Korean communities in Aotearoa New Zealand: Implications for social work practice. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 24(1), 31–40.
Payne, M. (2014). Modern social work theory (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
Pepworth, J., & Nash, M. (2009). Finding “a safe place to cry”: A review of research and evidence informing social work with refugees and new settlers in Aotearoa
New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 21(1/2), 48–59.
Price, J. M. C. (2010). Coding: Selective coding. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds.), Encyclopedia of case study research. SAGE. http://dx.doi. org/10.4135/9781412957397.n56
Ruwhiu, L. A. (2001). Bicultural issues in Aotearoa New Zealand social work. In M. Connolly (Ed.), New Zealand social work: Context and practice (pp. 54–71). Oxford University Press.
Shibutani, T. (1955). Reference groups as perspectives. The American Journal of Sociology, 60(6), 562–569.
Statistics New Zealand. (n.d.). New Zealand’s population reflects growing diversity. https://www.stats.govt.nz/ news/new-zealands-population-reflects-growing-diversity
Statistics New Zealand. (2006). Quickstats about culture and identity 2006 census.
Statistics New Zealand. (2013). 2013 Census ethnic group profile: Korean. http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013- census/profile-and-summary-reports/ethnic-profiles. aspx?request_value=24754&tabname=Keyfacts
Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge University Press.
Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. The Blackburn Press.
Viola, E., Biondo, E., & Mosso, C. (2018). The role of social workers in promoting immigrants’ integration. Social Work in Public Health, 33(7–8), 483–496. doi:10.1080/19 371918.2018.1546252
Wicks, D. (2010). Coding: Axial coding. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos & E. Wiebe (Eds.), Encyclopedia of case study research. SAGE. doi:10.4135/9781412957397.n54
Wright-St Clair, V., Nayar, S., Kim, H., Wang, S., Sodhi, S., Chung, A., & Hu, C. (2017). Late-life Asian immigrants managing wellness through contributing to socially embedded networks. Journal of Occupational Science, 25(1), 51–64. doi:10.1080/14427591.2017.1370607
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
By completing the online submission process, you confirm you accept this agreement. The following is the entire agreement between you and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) and it may be modified only in writing.
You and any co-authors
If you are completing this agreement on behalf of co-authors, you confirm that you are acting on their behalf with their knowledge.
First publication
By submitting the work you are:
- granting the ANZASW the right of first publication of this work;
- confirming that the work is original; and
- confirming that the work has not been published in any other form.
Once published, you are free to use the final, accepted version in any way, as outlined below under Copyright.
Copyright
You assign copyright in the final, accepted version of your article to the ANZASW. You and any co-authors of the article retain the right to be identified as authors of the work.
The ANZASW will publish the final, accepted manuscript under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence allows anyone – including you – to share, copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make commercial use of the work without needing additional permission, provided appropriate attribution is made to the original author or source.
A human-readable summary of the licence is available from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, which includes a link to the full licence text.
Under this licence you can use the final, published version of the article freely – such as depositing a copy in your institutional research repository, uploading a copy to your profile on an academic networking site or including it in a different publication, such as a collection of articles on a topic or in conference proceedings – provided that original publication in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work is acknowledged.
This agreement has no effect on any pre-publication versions or elements, which remain entirely yours, and to which we claim no right.
Reviewers hold copyright in their own comments and should not be further copied in any way without their permission.
The copyright of others
If your article includes the copyright material of others (e.g. graphs, diagrams etc.), you confirm that your use either:
- falls within the limits of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism and review or fair use; OR
- that you have gained permission from the rights holder for publication in an open access journal.
