Church support crucial for Korean migrants

news.massey.ac.nz

Monday, August 9, 2010

Church support crucial for Korean migrants

Korean migrants, one of the fastest-growing ethnic populations in New Zealand, are flocking to Christian churches for support, fellowship and business networking, according to new research released today.

Since 1986 the Korean population has leapt from just over 400 to nearly 31,000 at the last census in 2006. Around 90 per cent of the study's participants are regular churchgoers, compared with about 20 per cent in South Korea itself, which is predominantly Buddhist.

A 100-page report, Kimchi Networks: Korean Employers and Employees in Auckland, is one of the first to explore the experiences of Koreans, a relatively new group migrant.

The report was co-authored by Dr Carina Meares, Professor Paul Spoonley and Robin Peace from Massey's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Elsie Ho from the University of Auckland. It is the second in a series from the Integration of Immigrants research programme funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. The first, out earlier this year, was on Chinese business networks. Over the next six moths the team will report on migrants from Britain, South Africa and India.

Albany campus-based sociologist Dr Meares, the lead researcher, says churches do not simply provide a place of fellowship and worship. "They are an important part of networking and support for Koreans." The report reveals many Korean migrants tap into social, business and community networks to get help with and information about jobs, education and housing.

Between 1986 and 1996, Koreans were the fastest growing Asian group in New Zealand, with numbers soaring from just over 400 in 1986 to 12,753 in 1996. At the last census, they numbered 30,792.

Most live in middle-class North Shore suburbs of Pinehill, Northcross, Forrest Hill, Windsor Park and North Harbour West. In Auckland there many Korean-specific branches of churches with Korean ministers and services in Korean, including Methodist, Baptist, Catholic and Presbyterian.

One participant said: "I had help from the Korean church in New Zealand. They gave me information about the business. It was hard to get the right information except through the local Korean church. As an immigrant with limited English language, I felt isolated and was not able to get proper information to start up the business."

Korean translator for the study, Grace Kim, described a magazine advertisement for a Korean church saying: "Which church you decide to go to determines your immigration success."

Participants were generally satisfied with New Zealand, where they enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle, cleaner and less crowded environment and more family-oriented leisure time. A key reason for migrating is so that their children can be educated in English. But they also reported a drop in income and job status, difficulties speaking English and being accepted in the wider community, with 75 per cent experiencing some form of discrimination.

Dr Meares says Koreans, like Chinese migrants, rely heavily on their own networks and pre-existing contacts to get established. But they also have a strong wish to be fully integrated into the wider society. "They would like to be better treated by New Zealanders," she says.

The research aimed to better understand how Korean migrants integrate economically by examining the experiences of 14 employers, 20 employees and six homestay operators (women who host international students in their homes). Participants worked in a variety of industries but predominantly in either retail or accommodation and food.

As well as providing information that could be used to guide and inform prospective Korean immigrants and immigration policy makers, the report also aimed to capture "the human dimension of migration, the hopes and dreams of migrants", Dr Meares says.

She hopes it will also challenge New Zealanders, especially those in employer groups and educational institutions, to find out more about the Koreans that are in their midst.

ends

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