Pakistani Migrant Community in South Korea: Homeland Politics, Religious Organizations, and Settlement

Abstract

Although an extensive literature has been produced on migrants in the countries of reception but more work is needed on this topic as migrants are involved in variety of activities in host countries impacting a range of different phenomenon. The present study is focused toward homeland politics, religious organizations, and settlement of Pakistani migrants in Korea (South). While exploring homeland politics from the perspective of Transnationalism, the study finds different factors which facilitate homeland political activities of Pakistanis and explains why and how these factors contribute toward political transnationalism. The study finds the role of religious organizations as a significant element contributing toward the emerging political transnationalism of Pakistanis in Korean context along with other enabling factors. Religious organizations, related to Pakistan, are studied further to explore their working patterns as well as facilitation for primary settlement of Pakistani migrants by providing a space for socialization leading towards building of social capital which is further utilized for settlement practices and strategies. The study further discusses the role of social networks (formal and informal) for primary settlement of migrants. The study tries to answer the questions related to homeland politics which includes: why and how Pakistani migrants do homeland politics in Korea, what are their activities, what are their goals and objectives, what actors are involved in it, and what is their degree of involvement. The study finds out three types of homeland transnational political practices of Pakistani migrants in Korea: In-person participation, online participation, and political debates. Exploring religious organizations, the study focuses on the questions: how Islamic religious organizations were developed in Korea, how these organizations are connected to homeland politics, how the socio-religious experience of Pakistanis are mediated by these organizations, what is the impact of this mediation on migrants daily lives and how these religious organizations are providing a space for socialization resulting into settlement. Using the conceptual framework of social capital, the study devises three stages of the development of Islamic religious organizations in Korea; deployment of social capital for initiation, reinforcement of social capital for establishment, and sustenance with social capital over a course of time. The study also explores the role of social networks in settlement practices. Less settlement facilities for migrants in Korea lead toward migrants settling on their own using social networks. Regarding the role of social networks in settlement; employment, dissemination of information, and conflict mediation are discussed. The study relies upon anthropological research methods of semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observation, key informants and cyber content analysis. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks of Transnationalism and Social Capital are used to explain it in accordance with the existing theoretical knowledge.