중국 조선족의 영국 이주 경험: 한인 타운 거주자의 사례를 중심으로 = The Migration Experiences of the Korean-Chinese (Joseon-jok) in the Korean Diasporic Community: The Case of Little Korea in the London Borough of New Malden, U. K.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper is about the migration experiences of the Korean-Chinese people living in the suburban London district of New Malden, commonly known as Little Korea, which is considered to be the first and largest Korean community in Europe. This study analyzes the dynamic formation of labor classes within this Korean diasporic community, and focuses on ethnic Korean migrants and migrant workers who have settled in New Malden through diversified transnational migration routes. This paper challenges the prevailing Korea-centric view of the migration routes and motivations of Korean-Chinese migrants which portrays South Korea as the main and final destination. In reality, Korean-Chinese travel to as many as 88 countries around the world as active migrants in search of greater possibilities to lead a better life. The Korean-Chinese living in New Malden are generally employed to perform labor for the Korean community. Their employment can be classified as reproductive labor, which includes housework, child care and patient aid, and service labor, which includes employment in property construction, home renovation, cleaning, restaurants, tourist locales and entertainment facilities. While there exists the general perception that Korean-Chinese are performing work that is of lower status than that of other Koreans in the community, this group of migrants nonetheless interpret their situation in New Malden as an improvement compared to their status in South Korea. Based on in-depth interviews with Korean-Chinese migrants, this paper examines their migration routes and motivations, the settlement process, forms of labor, and relations with the ethnic Koreans within the same community. Finally, this study analyzes how these Korean-Chinese migrants establish a class/gender relationship within the community of ethnic Koreans by reconstructing transnational locality. This paper thus challenges the established paradigm that has been used to explain the lives and experiences of the Korean diasporic community based on the concept of an `imagined community,` and critically questions its assumptions of issues relating to transnational citizenship, labor rights, and gendered migration in a globalized context, particularly in the geopolitical space between South Korea and Europe.