Rooted Cosmopolitanism and Transversal Politics: South Korean (Non-)Expatriate Parents in China and Their Choice of Schools

Abstract

This ethnographic research examines the home-oriented cosmopolitan identities of South Korean expatriate and non-expatriate parents in China through their strategies in choosing schools for their children. I illustrate expatriate parents’ pursuit of local and national engagements regardless of their children’s immersion in international education. Moreover, I describe the cosmopolitan outlook of non-expatriate parents regarding their children’s exposure to local and national schooling tracks. ‘Rooted cosmopolitanism’ indicates that the parents’ openness to cultural differences is home-oriented and grounded locally in the host society. Furthermore, their school choices, which mix local and national with international education in their children’s life trajectory, are conceptualised as transversal politics. Rather than rootless elites, South Korean expatriates and non-expatriates in China should be regarded as ordinary foreigners.

Keywords:

• Cosmopolitanism
• Expatriate
• South Korean
• China
• Identity

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the CSC (China Scholarship Council), the MEARC (Morden East Asian Research Centre) in The Netherlands under the PhD fieldwork grant; and the Korea Foundation under a Korean language training fellowship. I would like to thank Frank Pieke, Pál Nyiri, Ka-kin Cheuk, Claire Maxwell, Angela Lehmann, Pauline Leonard, James Farrer and the two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments and helpful suggestions. It was also sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China under the project ‘Integration and Adaptation of International Migration in China from an Anthropological Perspective’ (No. 16AMZ008).

Notes

1 The exchange rate (Chinese yuan to Korean won) jumped from 1 yuan to 120 won to 1 yuan to 225 won in less than two years from the beginning of 2007 to the end of 2008. The exchange rate experienced a decrease after reaching a peak in 2008 and fluctuated between 1 yuan to 160 and 190 won afterwards. See XE Currency Charts (CNY/KRW). Accessed February 4 2016. http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=CNY&to=KRW&view=10Y

2 Source: Chaeoedongp'o hyŏnhwang (The Present Situation of Overseas Koreans), Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, for additional details http://www.mofa.go.kr/www/index.do

3 These statistics are based on a survey of 523 Korean enterprises in China, conducted by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) in 2010.

4 In 2014, tuition fees for international schools ranged from 200,000—280,000 Chinese yuan (US $32,223—$45,112) per academic year per person. The fee for bilingual schools ranged from 80,000—200,000 Chinese yuan (US $12,889—$32,223), Chinese schools (including international departments) charged 8,000—50,000 yuan (US $1289—$8056) and Korean schools ranged from 25,000—37,000 Chinese yuan (US $4032—$5968). (Exchange rate as at December 31, 2014 US $1=6.2068CNY.)

5 This word is an abbreviation of chaeoegungmin'gwa oegugin t'ŭkpyŏlchŏnhyŏng, meaning special admission for overseas Korean nationals and foreigners.

6 The recruitment quota is unlimited for students who have completed their pre-university education abroad. A 2 per cent limit (out of the total number of recruits) is applied for students who have studied abroad for three years, including the first year of high school education, and are living with both parents.

7 TOEFL stands for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, which is a standardised test that non-native speakers take to enrol in English-speaking universities. SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test, which is used for college admissions in the United States.