Publication details

Center and margin on the margin : A study of the multilayered (Korean) Chinese Migrant Neighborhood in Daerim-dong, South Korea

Authors

KIM Tae-Sik

Year of publication 2021
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Geoforum
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Citation
Web https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001671852100035X
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.01.027
Keywords Urban landscapes; Diasporic space; Migrant neighborhood; Chinese migrants; Korean Chinese; Spatial semiotics
Attached files
Description This study analyzes visual-material resources, spatial organization, and human activities taking place in a large (Korean) Chinese migrant neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. Grounded in walking fieldwork, this study identifies how dominant and marginal values are imposed in commercial streets and their surroundings of the neighborhood. The main commercial area plays a central role in the neighborhood, appropriating commodified Chinese cultures. A large local market commodifies Chinese culture in promoting the market as a multicultural place, while many Chinese restaurants highlight Chineseness, attracting both migrant and local consumers. On the other hand, the stigma of precarity is inscribed in every corner of the long-time low-income area: signs of otherness and unstable lives in the commercial landscape signify marginalization. The values expressed by the migrant neighborhood subtly suggest how migrants have been both included and excluded in South Korean society.

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