Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue (한국심리학회지 : 문화 및 사회문제)

Korean Psychological Association of Culture and Social Issues (한국문화및사회문제심리학회)
권호 표지

College Students' Re-Acculturation to their "Home" Country: Focusing on their Cultural Identity

해외거주 귀국 대학생들의 "모국" 문화재적응: 문화정체성을 중심으로

  • Received : 2014.09.24
  • Accepted : 2014.12.04
  • Published : 2015.02.28
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Among the cultural groups that increase South Korea's diversity, there are adolescents returning to Korea after their stay abroad. From 15 in-depth interviews with those who stayed abroad for longer than 5 years, 11 codes were generated. The codes were divided into two categories: "assets" when the multicultural experience served as resources for the returnees adapting to Korean culture successfully and "disadvantages" when the multiple experience remained fragmented for the returnees experiencing difficulty in re-acculturation. The distinguishing factors between the success and difficulty in re-acculturation appeared to be the cultural identity as Korean and the "openness to experience." The interwoven nature of personal and social factors stood out, along with the role of cultural identity throughout the process. Also the "openness to experience" as a strategy of integrating the past experiences is discussed, as well as the implications of the findings and the suggestions for future studies in the contemporary multicultural South Korea as a host society.

현대 한국의 문화적, 인종적 다양성이 크게 증가하는 가운데, 일정기간 해외 거주 후 한국으로 귀국함으로써 한국사회 내의 문화적 다양성을 증가시키는 인구가 있다. 특히 매년 2만명이 넘는 학령기 해외거주 귀국자들 중 한국에서 대학교에 진학한 학생들을 대상으로 심층면접을 실시하여 그들의 문화(재)적응 과정을 조사하였다. 해외거주 기간을 5년 이상으로 한정하여, 15명(남7명, 여 8명)의 귀국대학생을 면접한 결과, 11개의 주제가 도출되었다. 이 주제들은 크게 2개의 대분류로 나뉘었는데, 귀국학생들의 과거 경험이 다문화 사회의 일원으로서 살아가는 데에 자산으로 기능한 경우와, 반대로 다양한 문화적 경험이 오히려 개인의 문화적 정체성을 형성하는 데에 방해가 된 경우가 그것이다. 어느 부류에 속하는가를 결정짓는 변인은 한국인으로서의 문화적 정체성과 "경험에 대한 개방성"이라는 성격특질인 것으로 나타났다. 문화적 정체성은 다른 주제들의 유기적 관련성을 이어주는 핵심이었고, 경험에 대한 개방성은 회상적 연구의 특성 상 연구참가자들이 지난 경험에 대해 선택적인 기억을 하고 이를 통합하는 과정에서 사용된 인지적 책략일 수도 있음을 논하였다. 사회적 환경과 개인의 성격특질이 교차적으로 작용하는 단면으로서의 문화(재)적응 현상을 관찰한 결과들을 토대로, 현대 한국사회의 문화적 다양성을 연구하는 데 있어서의 함의 및 적용점을 논하였다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The submission and the publication of this study are supported by the Brain Korea Plus 21 of the Department of Psychology, Yonsei University. The data collection of this study was supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of South Korea (B00120) to the corresponding author.

References

  1. Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H.C. Triandis & R. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Vol.5. Social (pp. 211-279). Boston, M.A.: Allyn & Bacon.
  2. Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46 (1), 5-68.
  3. Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29, 697-712.
  4. Berry, J. W., Phinney, J. S., Kwak, K., & Sam, D. L. (2006). Goals and research framework for studying immigrant youth. In J. W. Berry, J. S., Phinney, D. L. Sam., & P. Vedder (Eds.), Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition: Acculturation, Identity, and Adaptation across National Contexts. (pp. 1-14). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  5. Birman, D., & Trickett, E. J. (2001). Cultural transitions in first-generation immigrants: Acculturation of Soviet Jewish refugee adolescents and parents. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32(4), 456-477.
  6. Bourhis, R. Y., Moise, L. C., Perreault, S., & Senecal, S. (1997). Towards an Interactive Acculturation Model: A Social Psychological Approach. International Journal of Psychology, 32 (6), 369-386.
  7. Chae, J. & Han, S. (2003). Influence of North Korean defectors' self-enhancement bias to their psychological adaptation in South Korea. Korean Journal of Psychological and Social Issues, 9 (2), 101-126.
  8. Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) Manual. Odesa, F. L.: Psychological Assessment Resources.
  9. Fail, H., Thompson, J., & Walker, G. (2004). Belonging, identity, and Third Culture Kids: Life histories of former international school students. Journal of Research in International Education, 3 (3), 319-338.
  10. Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989). Fourth Generation Evaluation. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.
  11. Jeong, A. (under review). An ecological analysis of Korean American adolescents' help-seeking: In relation to acculturation and acculturative stress.
  12. Korean Educational Development Institute (2012). Education Statistics.
  13. Martin, J. N. (1984). The intercultural re-entry: Conceptualization and directions for future research. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 8, 115-134.
  14. McCrae, R. R. (1996). Social consequences of experiential openness. Psychological Bulletin, 120 (3), 323-337.
  15. Neto, F. (2010). Re-acculturation attitudes among adolescents from returned Portuguese immigrant families. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34 (3), 221-232.
  16. Oh, K. J., Park, Q., & Oh, S. J. (2010). Acculturation and psychological adjustment of returnees: A study of Korean college students with extended experience of living abroad. Korean Journal of Psychology: Culture and Social Issues, 16 (2), 125-146.
  17. Pollock, D. C., & Van Reken, R. E. (1999). Third Culture Kids: Growing Up among Worlds. Boston, M.A.: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
  18. Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz, L. (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 10. (pp. 173-220). New York, N.Y.: Academic Press.
  19. Rudmin, F. W. (2003). Critical history of the acculturation psychology of assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization. Review of General Psychology, 7 (1), 3-37.
  20. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of Qualitative Resesarch: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
  21. Suinn, R. M., Khoo, G., & Ahuna, C. (1995). The Suinn-Lew Asian self-identity acculturation scale: Cross-cultural information. American Counseling Association, 23 (3), 139-148.
  22. Trickett, E. J., Kelly, J. G., & Vincent, T. A. (1983). The spirit of ecological inquiry in community research. In D. Klein & E. Susskind (Eds.), Knowledge Building in Community Psychology (pp. 283-333). New York: Praeger.
  23. Useem, J., Useem, R. H., & Donoghue, J. (1963). Men in the middle of the Third Culture: The roles of American and non-Western people in cross-cultural administration. Human Organization, 22 (3), 169-179.
  24. Useem, R. H., & Downie, R. D. (1976). Third Culture Kids. Today's Education, 65 (3), 103-105.
  25. Walters, K., & Auton-Cuff, F. P. (2009). A story to tell: The identity development of women growing up as third culture kids. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture, 12 (7), 755-772.
  26. Ward, C. (2013). Probing identity, integration and adaptation: Big questions, little answers. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37, 391-404.