Korean migrants’ transnational activism in Australia : Collective meaning making around human rights

Despite a growing evidence of transmigrants’ political activism, empirical research is still in its infancy. This paper examined how migrants’ political agency was constructed by their emotions, identities and transnational contexts. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 11 Korean migrants who were residing in Brisbane, the third largest city of Australia, and engaging in home-country politics through self-organized activities. The study found that participants developed a human rights frame to suit their identities and contexts and in turn, the frame shaped their identities and political agency around human rights. The concepts of ‘framing’ and ‘small group development’ assisted in understanding interview participants’ experiences of negotiating differences in conceptualization and strategization of social issues.

© International Society for Third-Sector Research 2021

This work was supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2020-OLU-20200039).