Split Lives: Korean-Chinese Transnational Bodies and Time

Subtitle: 
Talking About Asia
Activity Type: 
Lecture Series / Brown Bag
Presenter: 
June Hee Kwon, Department of Anthropology
Date: 
Friday, October 17, 2014 - 12:00 to 13:00
Event Status: 
As Scheduled
Location: 
4217 Posvar Hall

This talk examines the transnational temporality—back and forth—created by the combined effects of visa regulations, the characteristics of transnational labor, and transnational female working bodies. On the basis of ethnographic research on Korean Chinese migrant workers moving between China and Korea, I highlight the spatial division created by this repetitive migration: Korea is a place for making money, whereas China is a place for spending money; Korea is a place for working (productive labor), China is a place for resting (reproductive labor). Under this split in spatial practices, I argue, migrants have internalized a rhythm—a back and forth—that serves as a governing force on the laboring body, thereby making care for the body more difficult, and prolonging its exploitation in intensive labor.

UCIS Unit: 
Asian Studies Center
World Regions: 
Asia
East Asia