Shuttles of the Ethnic Borders －Case of the Mixed Identity of Chagubya and Argubya in Vladivostok, Russia－

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 국제한국문학문화학회
· 수록지 정보 : 사이間SAI / 32호 / 225 ~ 255페이지
· 저자명 : Vadim Akulenko

초록

Despite the fact that increasing mobility of the population and the disappearance of barriers for free migration of the population today which contribute to increase of ethnic diversity of modern nation, hence the emergence of an increasing number of persons with mixed ethnic identity, the study of the problem of mixed ethnic identities of children from mixed marriages surprisingly has been minimum.
This paper examines the phenomenon of mixed identities and the ability of people with them to cross ethnic borders. In this case, attention is focused on the children from interethnic marriages, who can choose an ethnic identity and change their choice throughout their lives depending on various circumstances. The object of the study is descendants from mixed marriages. The paper considers a case of descendants of marriages of Koreans and representatives of other ethnic groups living in Vladivostok. The subject of the study is ethnic borders and the conditions of their crossing. The aim of the work is to try to find out how and under what conditions the crossing of the borders of large ethnic groups by descendants of marriages of Koreans and representatives of other ethnic groups occurs.
The theoretical basis of the research are the concept of the ethnic border of F. Barth, concept “situational” identity of T. Ericksen and the hypothesis of K. Verderi that descendants of mixed marriages can manipulate their identity.
In order to conduct this study I used such methods as survey, semi-structured interview, participant observation and analysis of documents. The field stage of the study was made in the spring and autumn of 2017 by conducting of surveys and semi-structured interviews of 21 representatives of the Korean diaspora in the city of Vladivostok, 16 of them were so-called chagubya or argubya.
The study revealed that the ethnic border between Russians and Koreans began to form immediately after the beginning of the resettlement of Koreans to the territory of the Ussuri Region. Korean peasant settlers were able to find an empty niche in the economy of Primorye, which allowed them to isolate themselves and live separately until the resettlement in 1937. In Vladivostok the situation could have developed in a different way, but here the city administration created an artificial border, isolating the majority of Koreans in the so-called ‘Novaya Koreyskaya slobodka’ (New Korean settlement or Shinhanch’on).
Nowadays, the ethnic border is formed according to slightly different principles. Despite the fact that Koreans are still carriers of a vibrant and distinctive culture, they have largely lost their native language. At the same time, after deportation to Central Asia, or even earlier, Koreans acquired an interesting adaptation, expressed in a combination of two practices－condemnation of marriages with representatives of other ethnic groups and stigmatization of children born as a result of such marriages. In addition, these two practices are complemented by the complete absence of incorporation of new members, since the right to be Korean is given by birth. At the same time, Koreans themselves are fully incorporated into modern Russian society. There are representatives of all walks of life and professions among Koreans, although there are a number of occupations that Koreans prefer (trade, agriculture). All this forms a stable ethnic border, which, however, descendants of mixed marriages can easily cross.
Thus children from mixed marriages may be compared with shuttles. They can “cross” the boundaries of ethnic groups, where they are met by “pure” representatives of ethnic groups, who, allow or do not allow them to enter the territory of the ethnic group depending on certain conditions such as external similarity, degree of kinship, etc. The states not only record but also influence and stimulate crossing of this boundaries by the certain policies.

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