A Grounded Theory of Korean Immigrants' Experiences of Re-Establishing Everyday Activities in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This study explored how immigrants locate themselves in a new culture through analyzing 25 Korean immigrants' everyday activities in New Zealand. The findings suggest that they opted to either behave in Korean ways or to take up behaviors reflective of the receiving society, based on their level of control over activities disrupted by immigration. The findings supplement the concept of acculturation, explaining how 21st-century immigrants who retain transnational status engage in the acculturation process within a globalized context.

KEYWORDS:

• Acculturation
• activities
• control
• globalization
• grounded theory
• immigration
• Korean immigrants
• occupational perspective