| Abstract [eng] |
Interplay of Ethnic, Regional, and Civic Identities of Koreans in Russia 67 pages, 26 references. The research question of this master thesis is – how ethnic, regional and civic identities are constructed and interplay as revealed in the narratives of members of Korean community in contemporary Russia? The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the main elements of ethnic, regional, and civic identities of Koreans in contemporary Russia and discuss the ways these identities interrelate. The research methods of this thesis are 8 semi-structured interview and group discussion. After 8 remote semi-structured interviews and group discussions on Facebook social network, there were emerged some certain trends, and features of the formation of Russian Korean identity: Based on the theories of identity formation, where self-consciousness is formed through contact with others and reflection of differences and similarities (Bart 1998; Woodward 2004; Čiubrinskas & Kuznecovienė 2008) informants construct their ethnicity through the appearance, which differs from the Russian majority, common Korean cultural practices and values, and history. Regional identity is formed through the historical, language, food and imaginary differences in thinking and appearance of Russian Koreans. Citizenship is manifested through the characteristic features of Russian society: a common language, popular culture, a sense of humor, mentality, and the idea of Russia as a homeland. The interaction of informant identities is characterized by the fact that ethnic identity unites them based on Korean essence, but Russian Koreans are unequal, so in this way, regional identity arises. Also, Koreans are different not only at the Russian level, but also at the world level, so civic identity distinguishes them from other Koreans. This study can be useful in ethnological, anthropological, and sociological research to find out what is characteristic of the formation of the identity of Russian Koreans and possibly other minorities in this country. |
