Korean Nationhood Revisited

This chapter revisits the concept of Korean nationhood and examines how it is constructed and practised through institutional frameworks and media representations of marriage migrants in order to better understand how brokers operate within and reproduce dominant national logics. Drawing on Roger Brubaker’s processual approach, it conceptualises nationhood as a category of practice shaped by discursive, political, and institutional forces. It then traces Korea’s nation-building trajectory, emphasising the enduring influence of ethnic nationalism, gender norms, and the strategic adoption of multicultural policies in response to demographic anxieties, while understanding the tension between inclusive rhetoric and the continued privileging of ethnic-based belonging. The final section analyses media portrayals of marriage migrants – as swindlers, devoted wives, good daughters-in-law, and maternal citizens – as symbolic sites where nationhood is reinforced. These representations mirror brokers’ promotional narratives, showing how cultural ideals and policy logics converge to sustain racialised and gendered hierarchies. In doing so, this chapter situates Korean nationhood within migration infrastructures and highlights how national belonging is continually rearticulated through state, media, and market actors.