Going the distance: Transnational educational migrant families in Korea

This chapter explores transnational educational migrant families in South Korea, often called “kirogi” (wild geese) families because of the long distances members travel. Drawing on literature in various fields, the authors provide an overview of major themes, research foci, and recent developments. Whereas earlier studies focused on individual-level experiences and domestic-level factors underlying the educational “exodus,” recent research has taken a much broader (inter-) disciplinary/transnational and comparative perspective. Recent studies have sought to understand Korean kirogi families in relation to other East Asian educational migration but also in relation to other middle-class migrant families, such as professional migrants and married graduate student families. Recent studies have also expanded the geographical focus beyond Western destinations to include English-speaking locales in Southeast Asia and beyond. The chapter concludes by identifying lacunae in current scholarship and future directions for research.