2024 Volume 26 Issue 2 Pages 51-66
This study defines narrative as a collaborative process where conversation participants construct a story world while positioning themselves through their interactions. In this study, how a second-generation Zainichi Korean (long-term resident Korean in Japan),the father of the author, positions himself within his family’s narrative about South Korea. This analysis uncovered an identity paradox. Despite viewing South Korea, a place he has physically experienced, as “foreign,” he was found to also regard South Korea as his “homeland.” Furthermore, he positions himself beyond the confines of the nation-state and yet he aligns Korean nationality with ethnic identity. Hence, he is intrinsically bound within the nation-state framework. This study thus suggests that identity contradiction is the key to understanding the lives of Zainichi Koreans.
