@article{ART003218790},
author={Seungju Yun},
title={The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -},
journal={The Journal of Multicultural Society},
issn={2005-2553},
year={2025},
volume={18},
number={2},
pages={117-177}
TY - JOUR
AU - Seungju Yun
TI - The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -
JO - The Journal of Multicultural Society
PY - 2025
VL - 18
IS - 2
PB - Research Institute of Asian Women
SP - 117
EP - 177
SN - 2005-2553
AB - This study examines the struggles of married migrant women who have become multicultural language instructors in South Korea, focusing on their agentic resistance against labor inequalities and discrimination. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of recognition theory and performative citizenship, the analysis explores how these women confront ethnic labor market hierarchies and assert their rights as workers and citizens. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 30 marriage migrant women—20 of Mongolian origin and 10 from other countries—as well as a review of media reports and participatory observation during protest picketing activities. Unlike existing scholarship on married migrant women’s labor, which predominantly frames them as domestic caregivers or unskilled service workers in precarious jobs, this study expands the analytical scope by focusing on their experiences as educators in the public education sector. It highlights their collective labor struggles and alliances with irregular school instructors, thereby reframing them as political agents within the labor movement. Moreover, by shedding light on the economic positioning of multicultural language instructors—a group rarely discussed in labor discourse—this study underscores the significance of their bottom-up mobilizations in envisioning the possibilities of a more inclusive multicultural society. The findings reveal that these women have emerged as rights-bearing subjects who actively pursue legal and institutional forms of citizenship while simultaneously practicing performative citizenship through collective social and political action as workers.
KW - married migrant women;multicultural language instructors;struggles for recognition;performative citizenship;ethnic labour market
DO -
UR -
ER -
Seungju Yun. (2025). The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -. The Journal of Multicultural Society, 18(2), 117-177.
Seungju Yun. 2025, "The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -", The Journal of Multicultural Society, vol.18, no.2 pp.117-177.
Seungju Yun "The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -" The Journal of Multicultural Society 18.2 pp.117-177 (2025) : 117.
Seungju Yun. The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -. 2025; 18(2), 117-177.
Seungju Yun. "The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -" The Journal of Multicultural Society 18, no.2 (2025) : 117-177.
Seungju Yun. The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -. The Journal of Multicultural Society, 18(2), 117-177.
Seungju Yun. The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -. The Journal of Multicultural Society. 2025; 18(2) 117-177.
Seungju Yun. The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -. 2025; 18(2), 117-177.
Seungju Yun. "The Struggle for Recognition of Multicultural Language Instructors in South Korea: - Experiences of Performative Citizenship in the Context of Multidimensional Discrimination -" The Journal of Multicultural Society 18, no.2 (2025) : 117-177.
