Constructing Chineseness as other in the evolution of national identity in South Korea.

This study traces the way the evolving nature of the Korean national identity has shaped the construction of the Chineseness of immigrants as others. Two immigrant groups, Chinese immigrants called Hwagyo and Korean-Chinese referred to as Joseonjok, have constituted the majority of foreigners in Korea during different historical eras. Although Koreans assumed both represented 'Chinese' people, I argue that the core of their Chineseness was defined differently according to the evolving sense of the Korean subjectivity. The growth of the national economy and the culturally advanced and orderly society constituted the sources of the national character and provided legitimate grounds to discriminate against Chinese immigrants who were assumed to pose economic and cultural threats. This study suggests that the different logic of 'othering' is derived from the evolution of the Korean national identity in response to the nation's changing economic and political circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]