Abstract
Busan, South Korea’s second largest city has placed a now failed bid to host the World Expo 2030. The city waged a massive public relations campaign and courted organizers with firework shows and BTS. It plastered the metro with advertisements featuring, among others, the star of Korea’s famous Netflix show, ‘Squid Game.’ It was Hallyu (Korean wave) with a promise of sustainable futures and prime locations for international trade and investment. Underneath the flash of Kpop and spice of kimchi, lay a foreign population of students, migrant workers, ESL teachers, and interracial families who have experienced discrimination, unfair and illegal labor practices, and growing disenchantment with life in Korea. This paper analyzes foreigners’ experiences in Korea through the lens of regular and exchange students and Korean students who take courses with them. Focus groups conducted over two semesters at Busan’s top university, Pusan National University, reveal the experiences of students facing discrimination in Korea. It also explores what Korea has done right and offers policy proposals from foreign students who are often high-performing economic and politics majors. This paper hopes to offer a fresh and realistic picture of life in Korea that departs from the fantasies of Kdrama and reveals a more conservative, patriarchal society that is not as progressive and accepting as foreigners may initially believe. Lastly, it explores the importance of hosting the World Expo and what it means for Korea to have failed to secure the bid to host it in 2030.
Presenters
Dustie SpencerTraveling Faculty, Human Rights, School for International Training, Vermont, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—The World on the Move: Understanding Migration in a New Global Age
KEYWORDS
Multiculturalism, South Korea, Immigration, Student experience, Migration policy, Fertility crisis
