Confirmation of Candidature - Australian Children's Literature: Cross-Cultural Communication and Reader Response of Korean EAL Readers

This research project focuses on how Korean EAL learners construct an understanding of Australian identity when reading, using Shaun Tan's picture books as a stimulus. 
It investigates how Australian multicultural society is seen by Korean EAL learners who are new to Australia through reader response theory. Historically, Korea has been an ethnically homogenous country (Kim, 2023), however, the rapid increase in the number of foreign workers, international students, and marriage immigrants has led to greater acceptance and coexistence of various cultures. Nevertheless cultural diversity has become one of the major issues in today's Korean society. 

As of 2022, the total number of foreign residents in Korea is 2.25 million, accounting for 4.37% of the total population. Korea is close to being defined as a multicultural society, with the proportion of people with multicultural backgrounds exceeding 5% of the total population (Kim, 2023). As Korean society has become more multicultural only recently, exploring how Korean migrants respond to a very different culture by learning about other migration societies, including an Australian multicultural country, will be beneficial for understanding the transition process. 
In this regard, my research will look at the reflections and thoughts of ten Korean EAL learners who are new to the Australian multicultural society through especially reading Shaun Tan's Australian picture books for all ages which depict the culture and history of Australian migration and society.

For more information, please email the Graduate Research School or phone 0746 311088.