The Generational Effects on Collective Memories in the Context of International Migration: The Collective Memories of Koreans in South Korea and the U.S.

This article examines generational effects on collective memories of Korean history, while taking into account international migration. We asked 216 subjects in South Korea and the United States to name three important events in Korean history and to provide reasons for their selections. We found generational effects in both countries in a similar pattern. This is a remarkable social achievement of the U.S. emigrant subjects. The current study adds a cross-cultural perspective to the literature on collective memories, which has focused predominantly on U.S. and Western case studies. By comparing memories of people who share a national origin but live in different cultural contexts, the current study also intersects collective memories studies in other fields such as transnationalism and diaspora. Our findings suggest that future studies can benefit from a transnational approach to collective memories, which may or may not circulate across borders.