Little Syria: Syrian refugees in Car Town, Korea

Due to the Syrian civil war, about 1,100 Syrians have applied for asylum status in Korea, and almost all have obtained humanitarian protection status. Receiving refugees is a relatively new phenomenon in Korean society and many refugees may experience a hostile environment. Although a small number of Koreans show empathy to refugees, the majority have expressed serious security and financial concerns about hosting refugees. This qualitative study therefore looks at Syrian refugees’ sense of belonging in Car Town in Seoul, where approximately 50 Syrians have settled. Through interviews, informal talks, and observations, we investigate Syrians’ everyday lives, and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in the Korean society and in the local Syrian community. This study offers insights into different elements of belonging and how the politics of belonging and place-belongingness take shape, and in turn impact the sense of belonging of the Syrian refugees in Car Town and in Korea.