Korean Australian adoptee diasporas: a glimpse into social media

Abstract

There are an estimated 3,500 Korean Australian adoptees, making them the largest group of intercountry adoptees in Australia. With the onset and continuation of Korean Australian intercountry adoptions, adult Korean Australian adoptees form a unique diaspora and limited knowledge exists around their adoptee experiences and perspectives as adults. This thesis investigates adult Korean Australian adoptees’ diasporas, including the emerging field of social media as a core component of Korean adoptee digital diasporas. This research not only examines adult Korean Australian adoptees’ lived experiences but also how they engage with social media. Social media includes online social networks that connect individuals through the Internet to build relationships with others, for example using Facebook, Twitter, Blogger or YouTube.

Through analyses of the data drawn from an online survey, focus groups and interviews with adult Korean Australian adoptees, this thesis serves to address the current gap in research into Korean Australian adoptees’ diasporas, which is under-researched in terms of current adult adoptee perspectives. The principal dataset in this research was provided by 69 participants from the online survey and 17 participants from the focus groups and interviews. A mixed-methods approach is used to capture different dimensions of adult Korean Australian adoptees’ lives. This exploratory study provides a basis for capturing Korean Australian adoptees’ diasporas and highlights the social media trends in Korean adoptee digital diasporas.

This thesis highlights adult Korean Australian adoptees’ powerful lived experiences in their own words. The findings indicate that adult Korean Australian adoptees’ voices need to be heard with insights into adoption journeys, identities, families, and Korean adoptee social media. Social media is a diasporic space that connects adult Korean Australian adoptees to other Korean adoptees and provides a sense of belonging to the larger transnational Korean adoptee diaspora. As limited knowledge exists around adult Korean Australian adoptees’ lived experiences or how social media is used or valued by global Korean adoptee communities, this study illustrates contemporary insights into the understandings and complexities of Korean Australian adoptee diasporas.