The status of Korean language proficiency as a condition for Korean national identity: Focusing on university students born in the 2000s

Oh Saenae^*

Associate Professor, Tabula Rasa College, Keimyung University; 1095 Dalgubeol-daero, Daegu, 42601, South Korea

Abstract

The status of Korean language proficiency as a condition for Korean national identity: Focusing on university students born in the 2000s. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(2), 201-233. This study examines how university students born in the 2000s perceive the conditions for Korean national identity, focusing on the role of Korean language proficiency within this framework and its relationship to language attitudes. Survey responses from 406 students across four regions were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis, correlation, and regression. First, respondents conceptualized identity around acquirable civic conditions rather than innate lineage. Proficiency loaded on the civic factor and was rated above lineage-based conditions, although the required level was higher for Koreans than for foreigners and overseas Koreans. Second, evaluations of lineage conditions and proficiency did not vary together. The two were correlated, but lineage no longer explained proficiency once civic conditions were controlled for. Third, treating proficiency as a national condition correlated with respect for domestic dialects but not for Korean varieties spoken by overseas Koreans. This pattern suggests an unformed judgment rather than a negative evaluation, although this interpretation is based on a single item. By integrating national identity with language attitudes, the study shows that requiring an acquirable condition does not necessarily entail respect for the varieties of that language and argues for distinguishing the nature of a condition from that of a boundary.

국민정체성 조건으로서 한국어 구사 능력의 위상 : 2000년대 출생 대학생을 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