Acculturation of Korean New Zealander Youth

‘… A compelling exploration of how young Korean migrants in New Zealand navigate identity, adaptation, and belonging. Moving beyond traditional models of assimilation, this study highlights how youth actively redefine what it means to be Korean and New Zealander through complex processes of acculturation and re-ethnicization. Centering their voices, Song reveals the subtle negotiations of bicultural identity in a multicultural society.’

—Min Zhou, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

This open access book explores the acculturation, identity development, and cultural reconnection of newer-generation (1.5- and second-generation) Korean New Zealander youth who grew up in New Zealand after the 1990s. Based on in-depth interviews, it shows how many of them initially sought to assimilate into the dominant culture but later experienced a process of re-ethnicization, rediscovering their Korean heritage during adolescence and early adulthood. Chapters explore key themes such as cultural adaptation, ethnic identity, racism, co-ethnic friendships, and the role of digital media and the Korean Wave in fostering re-ethnicization. This book also situates these youth experiences within the broader contexts of New Zealand’s multicultural policies, its bicultural foundation, multicultural frameworks and the global dynamics of diaspora and migration. Drawing on theories of segmented assimilation, transnationalism, and ethnic belonging, this book offers new insights into how young migrants navigate dual identities and negotiate belonging in an increasingly diverse and complex society for scholars and students in migration studies, sociology, diaspora studies, Asian studies and cultural studies.

Changzoo Song is Associate Professor of Asian/Korean Studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research focuses on nationalism, Korean diasporas, and identity of the newer generation Korean New Zealander youth. He has published in Asian Ethnicities, Identities, and Journal of Chinese Overseas, and previously held academic positions in Latvia and Ukraine.