Deskilling and reskilling of political refugees in the Republic of Korea: an actor-network analysis

ABSTRACT

This qualitative case study applied the actor-network theory to trace the deskilling and reskilling of political refugees in the Republic of Korea. The investigation revealed that refugees’ skills could be interpreted as network effects that emerge through heterogeneous networks of colleges, workplaces and social activism. These linkages continuously dismantle and reconverge as they go through exile. The constraints of the refugee recognition process and the legal status accorded to refugees often hinder the utilising of their skills in Korea. Even after gaining recognition, transferring credentials, work experience, and expertise as social activists is challenging and riddled with constant disruptions for refugees. Meanwhile, they imbibe varied wisdom, including implicit cultural knowledge and vocational skills in new domains, as they work as day labour, assist volunteers, take on new hobbies and perform volunteer activities. Initially, such learning does not appear to be relevant to reskilling. However, when refugees encounter appropriate human or non-human intermediaries, the knowledge ‘patched’ into their skill networks converges into job-specific skills. This study traced the skills of refugees to elucidate the significance of non-human actors and the integration of discrete learning sources during the deskilling and reskilling process experienced by refugees.

KEYWORDS:

• Political refugee
• deskilling
• reskilling
• informal learning
• actor-network theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kyoungjin Jang

Kyoungjin Jang holds an M.A. in education and is currently a researcher at the Institute for Education Research at Yonsei University, South Korea. Her research focuses on work-related learning and the empowerment of marginalized populations, including migrants, refugees, and deskilled people.

Junghwan Kim

Junghwan Kim, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Human Resource Development (HRD) and the Leader of Adult Education in the Department of Educational Administration and HRD at Texas A&M University. While linking to the individual, organizational, and social change, his research focuses on learning, leadership/career development, and community/work engagement in young to older workers and adults in settings including nonprofit and for-profit organizations, higher education institutions, communities, and everyday life. He also researches the (inter-)national policies and practices of HRD and lifelong learning.

Wonsup Chang

Wonsup Chang, Ph.D., is a professor of human resource development and education of work program at the Department of Education, Yonsei University. He has written numerous publications on the learning and development of workers. His recent research focuses on masterity, which refers to materialistic and formative aspects of contemporary master’s learning.