The causes of diasporic return: A comparative perspective

This chapter begins with a historical and contemporary overview of the Korean diaspora with a focus on diasporic and ethnic return migration and compares it to other Asian diasporas covered in this book. The chapter then analyzes the various causes of return and ethnic return migration in these Asian diasporas, which are driven more by instrumental and practical motives rather than primordial ethnic attachments and affinities to the homeland. The role of homeland governments’ diasporic engagement policies is also examined, which reach out to diasporic populations as an asset and resource and encourages them to return home. These policies are based on instrumental concerns related to the role that diasporas can play in national economic development, but also on a strong sense of ethnocultural affinity between homeland governments and their diasporic peoples.