Thread by @SheenaGreitens

Excited to share a new article in Journal of Korean Studies (@JournalKorea) on how geopolitical considerations shape the citizenship claims of North Koreans, as well as the ROK state's response to those claims:
dx.doi.org/10.1215/073116…

It's pretty common to hear "North Koreans get automatic citizenship in South Korea." That idea's been used to turn down NKoreans seeking resettlement in other countries. But in practice, claiming citizenship status is much more difficult than the phrase "automatic" implies. 2/

Acquiring effective South Korean citizenship is difficult, protracted (multi-stage process before NKorean resettlers are accorded full rights of citizenship), & contingent, especially when trying to claim that one should be treated as an ROK citizen *abroad.* 3/

Difficulties often have to do w/geopolitics & state security concerns. North Korean accounts suggest that when one comes from an env emphasizing ethnic/communitarian notions of belonging, & ROK rhetoric echoes some of that, the difficulties can be hard to understand. 4/

Most attn to resettlement focuses on Hanawon, not these earlier stages. But my guess is that for some North Koreans, those are formative experiences: they're the first time many NK resettlers encounter the ROK government and seek their help. 5/

The policy implication is that scholars/policymakers focused on North Korean resettlement may want to look more at the signals sent in these formative encounters. & asylum courts in third countries hearing North Korean claims should be aware of practice, not just policy. 6/

This is part of an ongoing research project on the global North Korean migration & diaspora politics. Hope to have more to share soon. If anyone can't access the article & needs a copy, please DM. 7/

For the project, we have collected every published North Korean memoir in English & Korean that we could find. We are also looking at eventually digitizing the collection in future so others can use it for research. 8/

Hope this is of interest/useful! @VictorDCha @AndrewIYeo @JohnDelury @BridgetCoggins @duyeonkim @aramhur @WonkVJ @Dest_Pyongyang @StevenDenney86 @junghpak1 @SueMiTerry @FahySandra @mllesookim @HanVoice @committeehrnk @sykimsy @JosephKimNK @HyeonseoLeeNK @YeonmiParkNK @LibertyinNK

I should also thank three terrific researchers who worked with me on this project when it started several years ago @MizzouPoliSci: @ImMyungheeLee @Yubs89 @YJuliaJung. They do awesome research & you all should look them up!