Korean Wild Geese Families: Gender, Family, Social, and Legal Dynamics of Middle-Class Asian Transnational Families in North America

Who are wild geese families? They are middle-class Korean transnational families whose mothers and children migrate abroad for children’s education while fathers remain in Korea and economically support their families. While their transnational separation is initiated as a family strategy, it unexpectedly leads to substantial transformations in their lives and relationships. Korean Wild Geese Families explores the experiences of Korean wild geese families in North America, focusing on their gender, family, social, and legal dynamics throughout transnational separation: before separation, during separation, and after reunification. Se Hwa Lee discusses the themes of (1) changes in wild geese parents’ relative gender statuses, housework patterns, and spousal relationships; (2) changes in mothering/fathering practices and intergenerational relationships; and (3) wild geese families’ settlement and integration in the host societies and re-adaptation to Korea after family reunification. To further the discussion, Se Hwa Lee includes interviews with mothers in both the United States and Canada, as well as fathers in Korea, so that she compares the effects of immigration policies between the two countries and presents gender-balanced explanations. The author sheds light on Asian documented immigrants’ hardships and different degrees of empowerment and incorporation in the host societies by the type of legal status.