Article
Cultural Mechanisms within Relationships (Chemyon, Noonchi) and Adaptation to Korean Life by Female Marriage-based Immigrants from 5 East Asian Nations
| e-ISSN | 2982-6845 |
| p-ISSN | 1226-4474 |
| Metrics | Views 0 / Downloads 0 |
Abstract
This study investigated the question of cultural similarities and differences through the mechanism of interpersonal relationships (Chemyon & Noonchi) and what impact cultural differences within personal relationships have on adaptation to life in Korea according to length of residence. 54 female marriage-based immigrants from 5 East Asian countries in Gwangju city and Jeollanam-do Province were the subjects of this study. These subjects were Japanese, Korean-Chinese from northern China, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Pilipino female marriage-based immigrants, and they were divided into two groups according to their length of residence(2 years), and in each group of 5-6 people focus group interview were carried out with each ethnic group during the spring of 2009. Conversations during focus group interviews were recorded with consent, and recorded conversations were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed according to the 4-step text analysis method of Giorgi(1985). Any analytical work related to this attempted to abide by the rigor of qualitative research according to the criterion of qualitative research as espoused by Lincoln & Guba(1985). As the result of this research, it was found that Chemyon was a very important factor for the female marriage-based immigrants from East Asian nations, especially more important to the Chinese subjects (面子: mian zi). Likewise, to “be quick-witted((機(きてん)がきく))” was considered by the Japanese as an important virtue in social life and as an indispensible non-linguistic communication tool used by in the process of adaptation to Korean society. The female marriage-based immigrants from these 5 East Asian countries did not exhibit any differences in Chemyon and Noonchi according to length of residence, but did so by nationality. To reiterate, Chemyon was regarded by the female marriage-based immigrants as a means of self-protection and having an adaptive function during their adjustment period to Korean society while Noonchi played the role of being another form of communication (Rhie shim cheon shim, tacit or the ability sense to read a partner's mind) for female marriage-based immigrants with limited Korean linguistic abilities.