“I am a Kirogi Mother”: Education Exodus and Life Transformation Among Korean Transnational Women

Abstract

This study focuses on the recent social phenomenon of the kirogi, which means wild goose in Korean. This word also refers to a multinational household in which the mother has moved overseas for the children's education while the father lives alone in Korea to support his family economically. I investigate the narratives of kirogi mothers in Hawai‘i. My analysis attends to how kirogi status influences the mothers’ different identities as women in a transnational space. How the mothers construct their stories and redefine themselves and others is tightly related to the larger discourses around them. I find that being kirogi is not only a matter of choice in life, but can also be a vehicle for a powerful life in transformation. The mothers’ narratives show degrees of transformation as they recall, recount, and reflect upon their lives.

Keywords:

• kirogi (wild geese)
• narrative
• English education
• identity
• immigrant
• transformation