Scholars and policymakers often debate the merits of the “civic turn” in migrant integration policies, but most studies draw from Western host cases. How exportable is the civic model outside of this region, where migration often occurs among co-ethnics in contexts of strong national legacies? Through the “most different” case of North Korean refugees in South Korea, Hur shows that when newcomers define successful belonging in national terms, exclusively civic integration efforts backfire. The findings challenge the one-size-fits-all assumption about civic integration.

Speaker: Aram Hur, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Missouri
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Korea-Pacific Program Webinar Series:
This webinar series is designed to showcase new research as well as a forum for discussion of major policy issues. It will convene each week unless as noted on Mondays at 4 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. EST / 8 a.m. (Tuesday) in Seoul. This series has received generous support from the Korea Foundation.