Associate Professor of Asian Studies Ji-Yeon Jo has published a new book, titled Homing: An Affective Topography of Ethnic Korean Return Migration (University of Hawaii Press, 2017). From the press’s description of the book, found here, we learn that:
“Homing investigates the experiences of legacy migrants—later-generation diaspora Koreans who ‘return’ to South Korea—from China, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the United States. Unlike their parents or grandparents, they have no firsthand experience of their ancestral homeland. They inherited an imagined homeland through memories, stories, pictures, and traditions passed down by family and community, or through images disseminated by the media. When diaspora Koreans migrate to South Korea, they confront far more than a new living situation: they must navigate their own shifting emotions as their expectations for their new homeland—and its expectations of them—confront reality. Everyday experiences and social encounters—whether welcoming or humiliating—all contribute to their sense of belonging in the South.”
The book is available in both hardback and ebook editions. Congratulations Dr. Jo!