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Hyphenated Identities of Korean Heritage Language Learners: Marginalization, Colonial Discourses and Internalized Whiteness

ABSTRACT Drawing on the data collected through classroom observations, participants’ written journals, and in-depth interviews, this study examines the hyphenated identity constructions of 1.5- (ilcem osey) and 2nd-generation heritage language learners. The study observes that ethnic and racial exclusion in a White dominant society was more salient in 2nd generation than in 1.5 generation identities. On the other hand, 1.5 generation participants tended to accept their race, ethnicity, or hyphenated identities without evaluating them from the perspective of the dominant group. This in turn enabled them to circumvent the sense of marginalization. My finding is that beneath these 2nd-generation persons’ hyphenated identities there exists a discursive performance of self-Orientalism through which learners constantly internalize images of Koreans developed in the West. Moreover, they tend to distance themselves from so-called FOBs (fresh off the boat), who exhibit distinct stereotypical Asian characteristics. This study raises a number of pedagogical issues in the heritage-language-learning context where 2nd- and 1.5-generation learners are present together and further reconsiders the learning environment conducive to both 2nd- and 1.5-generation learners.