Date of Award
12-24-2025
Date Published
January 2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Social Science
Advisor(s)
Merril Silverstein
Keywords
Aging;Caregiving;Families;Migration;Transnational families
Subject Categories
Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology
Abstract
When children emigrate to a foreign country, how does that affect parent-care provided by these children? How do the emigrant children provide help and support from a distance, and what challenges do they face? I study these questions for Korean transnational families by conducting 14 in-depth, open-ended interviews of Korean American adult children with aging parents living in Korea about their long-distance parent-care experiences and concerns. I find that the Korean American children maintain a sense of filial obligation to provide care and support for their parents in Korea. They largely share a common idealized conception of traditional filial piety shaped by Confucian tradition, but most children in the study take a pragmatic approach and provide parent-care and support that is negotiated based on individual family circumstances. This flexible approach provides a potential model as to how filial piety in Korea may change in the future in response to societal pressures. I also find that modern information and communication technology (ICT) allow Korean transnational families to virtually bridge their physical separation. I propose a framework to explain how the availability of nearly free instantaneous communication tools and mobile telephony make distant family members as accessible as those living nearby, allowing them to build and maintain familial intimacy without the need to establish a routine in communication. Additionally, I find that these tools, along with video communication, now allow dispersed family members to interact with each other from a distance in ways only previously possible through physical meetings, and build on the concept of digital solidarity as a new dimension within the intergenerational solidarity paradigm.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Yoon, Joonsik, "Transnational Imagination: Generational Ties, Filial Piety, and Caregiving Across Borders Among Korean Migrant Families" (2025). Dissertations - ALL. 2248.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/2248
