재미한인의 사회경제적 성장 - 그 연구를 위한 이론적 고찰

The Socioeconomic Development of Korean-Americans: In Search of New Theoretical Perspectives

&nbsp;&nbsp;For the last forty years Korean-Americans achieved an outstanding socioeconomic development. This paper is an attempt to find theoretical perspectives which can explain the development more properly.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;One major approach which analyses Korean immigrants&quot; socioeconomic adjustments to the host society is middleman minority theory. In spite of much criticism against the theory it is still helpful to understand Korean immigrants&quot; concentration in small business and their involvement in racial conflicts with minority customers.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;Another useful approach for an analysis of Korean immigrants is the ethnic enclave hypothesis. Several researchers argued that the term ethnic enclave should not be used because of the difficulty of definition and measurement, They overlook the original insights of the hypothesis. The ethnic enclave economies enhance opportunities of ethnic groups within. Also the structuring and impact of ethnic enclaves constitute a core part of the study of the incorporation of immigrant groups.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;The middleman minority theory and the ethnic enclave hypothesis, recast to theorise the invisible networks of object/persons expanding across space will be the basis for the research of Korean-American society.