ABSTRACT
Based on in-depth interviews with Vietnamese young adults in the Czech Republic who consume Korean media products on a regular basis, this study investigates how their diasporic contexts are reflected in the consumption of Korean media products. While participants quickly spotted cultural proximity as the reason for their preferences, the in-depth analysis further revealed that cultural proximity was particularly identified (a) when they devised a concept of the Asian family from the dialectic relationship among their family experiences, the represented family culture in Korean media, and the observed Czech family culture; (b) when they found their diasporic identity in the image of hardworking immigrants; and (c) when they highlighted their cultural tastes and valued their human capital in contrast to those of Czech people and other kinds of Vietnamese migrants.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Potraviny is a very important contextual cue in understanding the Vietnamese diasporic community in CR. Backed by large wholesale networks of Vietnamese, Vietnamese run small grocery stores on every corner of Czech cities. Stores carry a variety of groceries and open early and stay open late to attract local customers who casually shop for a small amount of groceries. Participants also said that Vietnamese in the CR are typically represented as people working at a potraviny.
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Notes on contributors
Tae-Sik Kim
Tae-Sik Kim, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Masaryk University located in Brno, Czech Republic. He received his PhD from the University of Oklahoma, USA in 2012. His primary research interests are transnational communication, diasporic communities, visual semiotics, and urban communications.