What explains immigrants' national identity?. Issue 5 (3rd September 2018) - Shin, Geiguen
Abstract: This study explores the extent to which socio-economic factors in the U.S., and the exposure to the growing popular culture in Korea, influence Korean immigrants' American identity. While a great number of cultural and social psychological studies have identified that socio-economic and intergroup factors have the potential to affect an immigrants' national identity, studies have been negligent in examining the direct impact of popular culture from a sending country, as well as its conditional impact on national identity. In this study, focusing on Korean immigrants, we suggest that the increasing contact with the popular culture of one's home country, through media, may decrease immigrants' host identity. In addition, we suggest that it the impact of socio-economic and intergroup factors on their host identity. Although this study does not find strong evidence that Korean Americans who are more exposed to Korean popular culture through social media are less likely to endorse their American identity, empirical results provide some evidence that exposure to Korean popular culture weakens the effects of socio-economic and intergroup factors on the American national identity of Korean immigrants.