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National Narratives and Everyday Subversions: Korean © 2009 MIDUK KIM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NATIONAL NARRATIVES AND EVERYDAY SUBVERSIONS: KOREAN WOMEN AND MILITARY MEN IN U.S. CAMPTOWNS By MIDUK KIM A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science Written under the direction of Leela Fernandes And approved by _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2009 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION NATIONAL NARRATIVES AND EVERYDAY SUBVERSIONS: KOREAN WOMEN AND MILITARY MEN IN U.S. CAMPTOWNS By MIDUK KIM Dissertation Director: Leela Fernandes The objective of this dissertation is to explore the historical, material, and discursive realities of Korean women in the sex trade in U.S. camptowns. With the use of political ethnography, I draw on a wide range of sources such as textual literature, films, first-hand qualitative interviews, and participant observation. I make three major arguments: First, the existence of Amerasians and women in the sex trade in the camptowns has always been a polemic issue because it destabilizes the imagined and naturalized national identity which is constituted by the familial state and a biologically essentialist definition of race. In spite of the binary focus on nation and gender, two main strands of discourse -feminist rhetoric and nationalist narratives- have shared class based views on the women in the sex trade. Second, contrasting the public’s imaginations of the sex trade in terms of liaisons with ii foreign nationals, the women’s own narratives and life histories are centered on labor and reinhabitation (of the world). The construction of their life experiences demonstrates that 1) the practice of sex trade is not a question of sex but is on the continuum of other informal works; 2) being subject to victimization at one stage of their lives does not mean that their identities are permanently defined as victims. In re-narrating their lives and work experiences, this dissertation suggests an alternative view on the basis of such terms as “poisonous knowledge” and “abundance from hard labor.” Third, the oppression of women is daily and intersectional/multiple. The act of speech is not identical to voice. Thus, the women often employ unlikely forms of subversions including silence and social distance on a daily basis rather than establishing an open and assertive form of resistance. This dissertation was conducted under the Federal Wide Assurance number for the Rutgers University Institutional Review Board FWA00003913. iii Acknowledgements I am grateful to my advisor Leela Fernandes for her intellectual guidance throughout my graduate school career as well as this research. All interviewees in this research deserve my deepest gratitude for the time and the insights they shared. Lastly I thank Shayla Min and Ayoung Ko for their proofreading and helpful suggestions. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents Seonja Rhu, Youngbu Kim and my younger sister Eunjeong Kim. v A Note on Korean Language I have transliterated Korean words using The Revised Romanization of Korean. Exceptions are made for names whose personal orthography is publicly known. A Note on Year Because most of the writing was done in 2008, all statements including interviewees’ ages reflect that year. vi Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... iv A Note on Korean Language ........................................................................................ vi A Note on Year ............................................................................................................. vi Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... vii List of Illustrations ........................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1. Objectives and Review of Literature ..................................................................... 1 1-1. Background and Objectives ............................................................................ 1 1-2. Review of Literature: National and Global Context ....................................... 6 2. Methods and Sources ........................................................................................... 18 2-1. Subjects and Field Research ......................................................................... 18 2-2. Experience and History ................................................................................ 23 2-3. Politics of Naming ........................................................................................ 30 3. Outline of the Dissertation ................................................................................... 34 Chapter 2: Internal Dynamics of Camptowns: History and Policies ........................... 38 1. Reconsideration of Knowledge on Foreign Camptowns in Asian Societies ....... 38 2. The Evolutionary Context of the Military Camptowns ....................................... 43 3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 3: The Discursive Terrains of Western Whores and Mixed Blood People .... 75 1. Focus of the Analysis ........................................................................................... 75 2. Discourses ............................................................................................................ 78 2-1. General Background of Korean Nationalism ............................................... 78 2-2. “Commonalties” between Nationalist Narratives and (Visible) Feminist Rhetoric ................................................................................................................ 83 2-3. “Political Naturalization” of Nationness .................................................... 102 3. Marginalized but Transcending Discourses ....................................................... 108 4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 119 Chapter 4: An Analysis of the Material Lives of Women in the Sex Trade: Work, Identity, and (Re)Inhabitation of a World .................................................................. 122 1. A Fundamentally Different Question ................................................................. 122 2. Reading of Reticence on (Past) Practice of the Sex Trade ................................ 129 2-1. Plausible, Simultaneous Reasons ............................................................... 129 2-2. Work and (Sexualized) Identity .................................................................. 134 3. Critiques of Fatalism and an Alternative View .................................................. 154 vii 4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 167 Chapter 5: Victimization, Silence and Everyday Subversions .................................. 169 1. Contexts of Victimization .................................................................................. 169 2. (Enforced) Recognition and To Be Silent .......................................................... 180 3. The Meaning of Having Agency: Structure and Agent ..................................... 192 4. The Everyday Nature of Inequity and Subversion ............................................. 196 5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 209 Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................ 211 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 218 1. Sources in English.............................................................................................. 218 2. Sources in Korean .............................................................................................. 232 3. Others ................................................................................................................. 235 Curriculum Vitae ....................................................................................................... 237 viii List of Illustrations Table 1: Research Sites and the Military Camps ......................................................... 21 Map 1: Major U.S. Military Bases Overseas ............................................................... 36 Map 2: U.S. Troop Installations in Korea under the Land Partnership Plan (LPP) ..... 37 Figure 1: Five Largest Deployments of U.S. Troops Overseas, 1950-2003 ................ 36 Photo 1: A shopping area ............................................................................................. 46 Photo 2: A clothes store ............................................................................................... 46 Photo 3: A residential area ..........................................................................................
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