Korean Return Migrants from Brazil: Ethnic and Economic Aspects

The return migration of Korean Brazilians has been closely related tothe economic transformation of Korean community in Brazil and thehistory of Korean immigration into Brazil since 1963. Most Koreansdecided to stay in Sao Paulo, where they could seek out profitable busi-nesses and build a strong ethnic community in the city. Since the late 1980s, the economic situations of Koreans in Brazilhave slowly deteriorated. Many successful Koreans who accumulatedsufficient wealth abandoned Brazil to look for economic opportunitieselsewhere. Some non-affluent Koreans who failed to adjust to Braziliansociety also did not find bright futures in Brazil. Some Korean immi-grants in Brazil decided to return to their homeland, the economy ofwhich has grown much faster than Brazils since the 1980s. The early Korean immigrants who migrated as family units main-tained strong ethnic consciousness. Thus, they were able to adapt toKorean society relatively easily when they returned to Korea. YoungKorean Brazilians who completed basic Korean education in Koreabefore moving to Brazil also did not encounter any difficulty in main-taining their Korean identity while living in Brazil thanks to the flexibil-ity of Brazilian ethnic relations. However, second-generation KoreanBrazilians did not develop clear ethnic identities in Brazil and had towork hard to be integrated into Korean society.

keywords: return migration, Korea, Brazil, Korean immigrants, ethnicKorean community, Korean Brazilians, ethnicity, adaptationJoo Jong-Taick (Ju, Jong-taek) is an assistant professor in the Department of Inter-national Cultural Studies at Soonchunhyang Univer, return migration, Korea, Brazil, Korean immigrants, ethnicKorean community, Korean Brazilians, ethnicity, adaptationJoo Jong-Taick (Ju, Jong-taek) is an assistant professor in the Department of Inter-national Cultural Studies at Soonchunhyang Univer

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Article Contents

Vol.47 No.2

Korean Return Migrants from Brazil: Ethnic and Economic Aspects

Abstract

Reference

Korea Journal