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Abstract
South Koreans pursuing business opportunities in China have routinely sought assistance from Chinese-born Koreans who possess the linguistic and cultural skills to help make ventures in China successful. While shared ethnicity is a proven resource for furthering transnational business, emphasis on common identity can quickly deteriorate into an emphasis on separate identities. This article examines how shared ethnicity has facilitated business between China and South Korea and how ethnic solidarity has been questioned. The study contributes to discussions about the interplay between cultural identities and transnational business.
Notes
1 One study (Kim Citation2003) applies the concept of an ethnic enclave economy to Yanji, the main town in Yanbian, the autonomous prefecture for Koreans in China. That work considers the activities of Korean Chinese rather than relationships between Korean Chinese and South Koreans.
2 Communities in the United States have received significant attention. See, for example, Knowles (Citation2010).
3 For China, South Korea is the country’s largest source of imports. South Korea exports more goods by value to China than do either Japan or the United States (Yang Citation2014, p. 3).
4 Zhongguo minzu renkou ziliao, Department of Population Statistics of State Statistical Bureau and Economics (Beijing, China Statistics Press, 1994).
5 Numerous news reports in the early 1990s reflect this excitement. See, for example, reports on the cultural and business dimensions to this enthusiasm in Donga Ilbo, 24 August 1992, p. 8; Donga Ilbo, 25 August 1992, p. 12.
6 Seoul Gyeongje, 10 January 1997, p. 13.
7 Hanguk Gyeongje, 20 April 1995, p. 10.
8 Heungryongang Sinmun, 14 July 2015.
9 Yonhap, 30 August 2013.
10 A sign of the government’s efforts to use transnational Korean links for local entrepreneurial purposes is the appointment in 2010 of an American-born Korean, Yoo Dae-jin, as a deputy mayor of Yanji. He gained the attention of the Yanji authorities in his previous role organising worldwide Korean business events in California.
11 Korea Management and Technology Consultant Association (KMTCA), available at: http://www.kmtca.or.kr/International/apec_about.html, accessed 25 May 2014.
12 Donga Ilbo, 6 January 1992, p. 15.
13 Seondaei Jeoneol, 4 November 2001. For an expanded discussion of sentiments such as this one, see Kim (Citation2010, pp. 88–93).
14 Interview with a Korean Chinese travel agent, Dalian, September 2003.
15 Interview with a 22-year-old Korean Chinese travel guide, Shenyang, 2001.
16 Interview with a Korean Chinese who returned from South Korea, Beijing, December 2003.
17 Interview with a South Korean shopkeeper, Beijing, December 2003.
18 Maeil Gyeongje [Korean], 25 November 1996.
19 I encountered this response repeatedly in my interviews, both with Korean Chinese and South Koreans.
20 Dongbuga Shinmun, 7 September 2015.
21 Dongbuga Sinmun, 17 November 2015.
22 Yonhap, 4 February 2015.
23 Dijiteol Taimjeu, 14 May 2015.
24 Heungryongang Sinmun, 11 May 2012.
25 Mudeung Ilbo, 9 January 2013.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Hyejin Kim
Hyejin Kim, Department of Political Science and Global Studies Programme, National University of Singapore, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, AS1, #04-10, 11 Arts Link, 117570, Singapore. Email: [email protected]