Transnational South Korea as a site for a sociolinguistics of globalization: Markets, timescales, neoliberalism¹

Abstract

This special issue seeks a new direction for the sociolinguistics of globalization in the process of transnationalism, using as a case study new modes of Korean migration that are changing the face of Korean transnationalism, including short‐term early study abroad and return migration. Through a discussion of the historical and sociolinguistic context of South Korea, this paper demonstrates how transnational Korea is a relevant site for refining, reframing, and reconsidering the current sociolinguistics of globalization. We identify two important interventions into the theoretical considerations of language and globalization brought forward by the Korean case: (1) a heightened attention to multiple timescales and markets; and (2) a more serious engagement with and critique of neoliberalism. 본 특별호는 초국가성이 세계화의 사회언어학의 새로운 연구 방향이 되어야 한다고 주장하며, 조기유학과 재이주 등 한국의 초국가성의 양상을 변화시키는 새로운 이주 현상들을 그 사례로 제시한다. 한국의 역사적, 사회언어학적 배경에 대한 논의를 통해, 본 논문은 왜 한국의 초국가성이 세계화에 대한 사회언어학적 연구를 새롭게 정립하는데 유용한 연구대상이 될 수 있는지 설명한다. 한국의 사례는 언어와 세계화의 관계에 관한 이론의 발전을 위하여 다음과 같은 두 방향을 제시한다: (1) 시간단위와 시장들의 다양성에 촛점을 맞출 것; 그리고 (2) 신자유주의에 대한 더 진지한 비판에 임할 것. [Korean]

Emotions and Language Teacher Identity: Conflicts, Vulnerability, and Transformation

“…South Korea is one of the countries responding to globalization with enthusiasm by underscoring the role of English in the process of globalization (Park, 2009;Park & Lo, 2012). For example, the government emphasized English as a global language through its national globalization project in the late 1990s, which led to implementing English as an official subject in elementary school.…”

“…One recent phenomenon relevant to the shifting teaching context in Korea is young Korean children's early study abroad (ESA) before college to learn English through early immersion in an English-dominant country (see Park & Lo, 2012). This ESA phenomenon is considered to be a middle-class Korean families' strategy to secure English as global linguistic capital for their children's competitiveness and belongingness in the global market (Park & Lo, 2012;Shin, 2014;Song, 2012).…”

“…One recent phenomenon relevant to the shifting teaching context in Korea is young Korean children's early study abroad (ESA) before college to learn English through early immersion in an English-dominant country (see Park & Lo, 2012). This ESA phenomenon is considered to be a middle-class Korean families' strategy to secure English as global linguistic capital for their children's competitiveness and belongingness in the global market (Park & Lo, 2012;Shin, 2014;Song, 2012). Upon returning to Korea, these ESA students bring new competences, practices, and perspectives to the local classroom, which generates more tension and anxiety among families and English professionals (Cho, 2012;Lee, 2015;Park & Abelmann, 2004;Song, 2016).…”

Everyday racism in Canadian schools: ideologies of language and culture among Korean transnational students in Toronto

“…Park and Lo 2012). In my ethnographic study on Korean ESA students attending Toronto high schools (Shin 2010), the students reported that contrary to their initial assumption that English will naturally improve in an English-speaking nation, their access to authentic English had been constrained for reasons relating to discrimination and sanctions experienced in the local context through racial and linguistic stigmatisation (e.g.…”

“…Over the past decade, ESA has established itself as an increasingly fundamental experience in middle-class urban Korean life (cf. Park and Lo 2012). For example, the number of ESA students who left Korea on student visas in 2006 was 45% greater than the previous year, with particularly explosive growth (69.5%) for elementary school students (KEDI 2007).…”