A study on the representation of motherhood in Korean language textbooks for female marriage migrants: Focusing on text and illustration analyses of The exciting Korean language and The accurate Korean language

Qin Wu

Yonsei University

Abstract

This study investigates representations of motherhood in Korean language textbooks for female marriage immigrants, focusing on The Exciting Korean Language and The Accurate Korean Language, which are widely used in multicultural family centers. Drawing on Sadker and Sadker’s (2003) framework of “Stereotyping” and “Imbalance and selectivity“, this study analyzed illustrations and texts. Findings revealed that mothers were consistently depicted as the primary agents of childcare, education, and household management, with such topics concentrated in dialogues between female characters. Additionally, textual portrayals emphasize devotion and self-sacrifice, whereas marriage-migrant mothers are often depicted as dependent, unlike Korean mothers. The study highlights the need for future textbook development to address learner needs within their structural contexts and include more diverse and non-traditional representations of motherhood (e.g., scenes that emphasize experience-sharing and mutual support among mothers from minority backgrounds.

여성결혼이민자 대상 한국어 교재에 재현된 모성에 대한 고찰
: 즐거운 한국어･정확한 한국어의 텍스트와 삽화 분석을 중심으로

초록

Vol. 40 No. 4 (2022.12)

Journal Abbreviation j. Korea Saf. Manag. Sci.
Frequency Published four times annually in March, June, September, and December
Doi Prefix 10.14353/sjk.
Year of Launching 1993
Publisher The Sociolinguistic Society of Korea

Indexed/Tracked/Covered By