A word on borders (boundary)​

In my research on immigrants, one often becomes aware of the implicit assumption that there is a clear distinction between a definite category of "immigrants" and those who are not, labeled as "non-immigrants."

For example, in situations like sitting next to someone named Park, there is an immediate inclination to reinterpret the relationship from "you and me", by categorizing it as "a Korean person and a person from ●●" based on nationality or ethnicity. There is a sensation of one's thoughts being hijacked by the arbitrariness of various categories that, while connecting people, simultaneously create distinctions between them. Fieldwork, while intertwining with the somewhat insensitive thoughts towards the obviousness of categories, confronts us with the richness of connections between people and their lives, presenting new realities. By discussing views and issues about various borders with researchers who have such experience, emerges a strong desire to constantly renew and update our own thinking style, which tends to become rigid and constricted.

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