The state, race, and immigrant adaptation: A comparative analysis of the Korean diaspora in Japan and the United States
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What accounts for varying forms of adaptation of immigrants to host countries? Despite their common ethnic origin, Korean immigrants demonstrate very different adaptation pa erns in Japan and the United States. By elucidating the importance of different national peculiarities in racial ideology, this article argues that Korean immigrants are racialized differently given different circumstances and structural conditions in these two countries. Employing a cross-national comparison focusing on a single ethnic group, this study shows that cultural and racial similarities between immigrants and the mainstream of the host society do not guarantee smooth assimilation. This article concludes that in the long run, differences in modes of incorporation are more relevant to immigrant adaptation than visible racial or cultural differences between the immigrants and the mainstream of the host society.
