중국 동포 자녀양육 지원 방안 연구

Abstract

This study attempted to identify differences in child-rearing values and styles between Korean-Chinese and Han-Chinese and within Korean-Chinese families in Yanji and Beijing, which are the traditional residential quarters of ethnic Koreans in China. This was done with a view to enhancing the understanding of China and the Korean-Chinese Diaspora and providing basic data with which to better deal with changes in the Korean-Chinese community in China in the future.

For the purposes of this study, surveys were carried out on 399 Korean-Chinese families with infants and children and 199 non-Korean-Chinese families (including Han-Chinese) with infants and children residing in both Beijing and Yanji, and a total of 20 rounds of group-interview were conducted on Korean-Chinese and Han-Chinese in Yanji (10 rounds) and Beijing (10 rounds).

The surveys and interviews revealed that in terms of attitudes toward children, values and expectations placed on children, gender preferences for children and future relationships with Korea, the Korean-Chinese appeared to have more traditional values towards their children and higher expectations for their success than the Han-Chinese.

In general, Korean-Chinese families in China were more highly motivated in terms of social achievements than Han-Chinese families, while within the Korean-Chinese community itself, regional differences between Yanji and Beijing were quite pronounced. Taking into consideration the fact that the sample of the new-generation Korean-Chinese population residing in Beijing mainly consisted of highly-paid professionals with high levels of academic achievement, nevertheless, the regional gap between Beijing and Yanji was still apparent and the differences and changes shown in the new- and old-generation Korean-Chinese with respect to their views on child-rearing and actual nurturing were notable. When it came to the issue of child-rearing attitudes, Korean-Chinese parents were overall more controlling than Han-Chinese, and Korean-Chinese parents in Beijing were more inclined to be stronger than their Yanji counterparts in terms of acceptance, rejection and autonomy, which indicates that attitudes tended to form more firmly and varyingly in a big city than in a small one.

To sum up, the Korean-Chinese community in China is facing a number of changes whereby its unique systems such as the Korean-Chinese kindergartens that have had an influence upon its ethnic identity is gradually on the decline as more and more Korean-Chinese in the three Northeastern Provinces of China move to big cities for reasons such as their children’s educations. Therefore, there are two conflicting forces at play within the Korean-Chinese community: one side is trying to preserve traditions as Korean-Chinese in the past and the other side is striving to be incorporated into contemporary Chinese society in order to adapt to new changes taking place in China. This suggests that the Korean-Chinese community is undergoing changes and its future may look a great deal different from its present form. Even though both sides are pulling in opposite directions, one trying to maintain its identity as Korean-Chinese and the other settling down in mainstream Chinese society with their high incomes and levels of education – both are equally precious national assets. Accordingly, there should be private sector-led efforts to expand support for the Korean-Chinese community in the form of teaching materials and teach-ware and programs through Korean-Chinese kindergartens. In addition, business relationships and exchanges with Korean-Chinese should be strengthened further so that those Korean-Chinese residing in big cities can maintain their pride in their ethnicity and heritage.