Search

Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 58 Korean-Chinese immigrants in South Korea, this study examines how ethnic return migrants negotiate their ethnic and national identities after relocating to the ancestral homeland. Findings reveal that migrants’ identity negotiations reflect the ethno-racial contexts of both pre- and post-migration societies. Most participants have one of three identity orientations: ethnic-identity (Korean), national-identity (Chinese), and in-between. Those who are oriented exclusively toward either Chinese or Korean identity struggle to claim full belonging in the society with which they primarily identify. Furthermore, having an in-between orientation does not provide flexible identity options but only results in a sense of being unable to belong anywhere. Findings suggest that the ethnic return migrants’ perceived minority status in both home and host societies play a crucial role in shaping their identity negotiations.

개인의 생물학적 성별과 성별 정체성이 일치하지 않는 트랜스젠더(transgender)는 게이, 레즈비언, 바이섹슈얼 등과 함께 전통적인 성별 규범에 부합하지 않아 주류사회로부터 배제된 소수자 집단이다. 트랜스젠더는 많은 경우 자신의 성별 정체성에 따라 단순히 외양 뿐만 아니라 신체를 변형시키고자 하는 의료적 욕구를 지니고 있다는 점에서 여타 소수자 집단과는 구별된다. 하지만 트랜지션에 대한 사회적 금기로 인해 이들은 의료과정에서 고유한 불이익에 직면하고 있다. 선행연구는 트랜스젠더와 같은 사회적 소수자 집단이 건강상의 불이익 외에도 의료서비스상 불평등에 노출되어 있음을 보고해 왔다. 하지만, 소수자 집단의 의료서비스 불평등을 다루는 문헌들은 주로 진단, 상담, 치료 등 직접적인 의료과정과 의료접근성(access to healthcare)에 국한되어 소수자 집단의 의료서비스 이용에서 사회적 낙인(social stigma)이 미치는 영향을 적절하게 파악하지 못했다. 본 연구는 15명의 트랜스젠더를 심층 인터뷰한 데이터를 이용하여 트랜스젠더의 의료적 트랜지션 관련 의료 서비스 경험을 조사하였다. 이를 통해 본 연구는 한국에서 트랜스젠더가 사회적 낙인으로 인해 의료적 트랜지션 과정에서 주변화되는 사회적 과정을 밝히고자 하였다. 분석 결과, 트랜스젠더에 대한 사회적 낙인은 의료적 트랜지션 관련 보건의료 서비스과정에서 단순히 의료기관의 관련 지식, 시설, 편견으로 인한 직접적인 차별을 발생시킬 뿐만 아니라, 트랜스젠더의 의료서비스 추구 행위 및 의료제공자의 상호작용 전반에 부정적인 영향을 미친다. 결국, 트랜스젠더 참여자들은 의료 서비스 과정 전반에서 주변화된다.

Objectives This study investigated the association between perceived ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms among biethnic adolescents in South Korea. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of 4141 biethnic adolescents using data from the 2012 National Survey of Multicultural Families. Perceived ethnic discrimination was measured using the question "Have you ever been discriminated against or ignored because either of your parents is not a Korean?" with an assessment of depressive symptoms over the past 12 months. Logistic regression was applied to examine potential associations between perceived ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms. Results Among 4141 biethnic adolescents, 558 (13.5%) reported having experienced ethnic discrimination. The most common discriminatory perpetrators were friends (n=241, 5.8%), followed by strangers (n=67, 1.6%). Depressive symptoms were related to experience of ethnic discrimination (odds ratio [OR], 3.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.89 to 4.98) after adjusting for potential confounders. In an analysis focusing on the perpetrators of discrimination, depressive symptoms were found to be associated with perceived ethnic discrimination from friends (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 2.75 to 5.68), teachers (OR, 4.53; 95% CI, 2.16 to 9.51), family members and relatives (OR, 3.89; 95% CI, 1.59 to 9.48), neighbors (OR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.14 to 5.38), and strangers (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.30 to 4.79). Furthermore, the OR for depressive symptoms among those exposed to 1, 2, or 3 or more discriminatory perpetrators were 3.61 (95% CI, 2.49 to 5.24), 3.61 (95% CI, 1.68 to 7.74), and 6.69 (95% CI, 2.94 to 15.22), respectively. Conclusions According to our findings, friends were the most common perpetrators of discrimination and the experience of ethnic discrimination was associated with depressive symptoms among biethnic adolescents in South Korea.

Background Despite a growing body of evidence suggesting that discrimination harms health, the association between appearance discrimination and health has been understudied. Our study investigated the association between perceived appearance discrimination and self-rated health among emerging adults using a nationally representative cohort study in South Korea. Methods We analyzed the 2nd-10th (2005–2013) waves of cohort data from the Korean Education Employment Panel (KEEP). KEEP consists of two groups of individuals who were 15 (group I) and 18 (group II) years old at the 1st wave of the survey (2004) and were followed annually. Appearance discrimination was assessed at baseline (19 years old: 5th wave for group I, 2nd wave for group II) and at follow-up (24 years old: 10th wave for group I, 7th wave for group II). Responses of appearance discrimination at the two-time points were classified into four groups: 1) never (no discrimination at both baseline and follow-up); 2) repeated (discrimination at both baseline and follow-up); 3) incident (discrimination only at follow-up); and 4) in error (discrimination only at baseline). Multivariate logistic regression was applied to examine the association between reporting patterns of appearance discrimination and poor self-rated health, adjusting for potential confounders. Results Compared to those who did not experience appearance discrimination, ‘repeated’ (OR: 3.70; 95% CI: 2.19–6.27) and ‘incident’ (OR: 3.10; 95% CI: 1.99–4.83) groups had a higher odds ratio of poor self-rated health after adjusting for potential confounders including respondents’ body mass index change and baseline self-rated health. However, no significant association was observed among those who reported appearance discrimination ‘in error’. Conclusions These results suggest that perceived appearance discrimination is associated with the health of Korean emerging adults considering participants’ reporting patterns of appearance discrimination. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12939-017-0678-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Table S1. Association between experience of appearance discrimination and poor self-rated health among emerging adults in Korea (Baseline-follow-up: 6th-10th for Group I, 3rd-7th for Group II; N = 2,071). Table S2. Association between experience of appearance discrimination and poor self-rated health among. emerging adults in Korea (Baseline-follow-up: 7th-10th for Group I, 4th-7th for Group II; N = 1,406). Table S3. Association between experience of appearance discrimination and poor self-rated health among emerging adults in Korea (Baseline-follow-up: 8th-10th for Group I, 5th-7th for Group II; N = 1,865). Table S4. Association between experience of appearance discrimination and poor self-rated health among emerging adults in Korea (Baseline-follow-up: 9th-10th for Group I, 6th-7th for Group II; N = 2,170). (DOCX 20Â kb)

Prior research suggests that Asian Americans fall between whites and African Americans in the American racial stratification system. However, scholars know relatively little about how this position shapes Asian Americans’ understandings of racial discrimination. This article examines the discourses surrounding individual experiences of racism among Korean Americans and the association between discourses and Korean Americans’ intermediate race position. Drawing upon 69 in-depth interviews with 1.5- and second-generation Korean Americans, I identify three discursive subgroups: honorary whites, racial intermediaries, and racial progressives. The tendency to deny, minimize, or acknowledge the significance of experienced racism characterizes the three groups. A critical discourse analysis reveals that the largest subgroup employs discourse minimizing racism, reflecting the respondents’ ambivalent racial identification. These respondents do not consider themselves part of a minority, yet say they are not white. Findings suggest that the Korean Americans’ racial ambivalence is closely associated with racial intermediacy.

Background Ethnic discrimination is increasingly common nowadays in South Korea with the influx of migrants. Despite the growing body of evidences suggests that ethnic discrimination negatively impacts health, only few researches have been conducted on the association between ethnic discrimination and health outcomes among marriage migrants in Korea. This study sought to examine how ethnic discrimination and response to the discrimination are related to self-rated health and whether the association differs by victim’s gender. Methods We conducted two-step analysis using cross-sectional dataset from the ‘National Survey of Multicultural Families 2012’. First, we examined the association between perceived ethnic discrimination and self-rated health among 14,406 marriage migrants in Korea. Second, among the marriage migrants who experienced ethnic discrimination (n=5,880), we examined how response to discrimination (i.e., whether or not asking for fair treatment) is related to poor self-rated health. All analyses were conducted after being stratified by the migrant’s gender. Results This research found the significant association between ethnic discrimination and poor self-rated health among female marriage migrants (OR: 1.53, 95 % CI: 1.32, 1.76), but not among male marriage migrants (OR: 1.16, 95 % CI: 0.81, 1.66). In the restricted analysis with marriage migrants who experienced ethnic discrimination, compared to the group who did not ask for fair treatment, female marriage migrants who asked for fair treatment were more likely to report poor self-rated health (OR: 1.21, 95 % CI: 0.98, 1.50); however, male marriage migrants who asked for fair treatment were less likely to report poor self-rated health (OR: 0.65, 95 % CI: 0.36, 1.04) although both were not statistically significant. Conclusions This is the first study to investigate gender difference in the association between response to ethnic discrimination and self-rated health in South Korea. We discussed that gender may play an important role in the association between response to discrimination and self-rated health among marriage migrants in Korea. In order to prevent discrimination which could endanger the health of ethnic minorities including marriage migrants, relevant policies are needed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0396-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association between perceived ethnic discrimination and poor self-rated health, and the role of response to discrimination among marriage migrants in South Korea (N=14,406). (PDF 99 kb)