ERIC Number: EJ1266318
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0167-8507
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Staying Connected during COVID-19: The Social and Communicative Role of an Ethnic Online Community of Chinese International Students in South Korea
Jang, In Chull; Choi, Lee Jin
Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, v39 n5 p541-552 Sep 2020
As the public health threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving globally, many linguistic minorities are struggling to obtain accurate and timely health information about the disease and its prevention and treatment in their native language. This study argues that existing ethnic online communities can play an important role in dealing with such health information disparities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing the activities and postings on an online community of Chinese international students in South Korea, this paper illustrates that the community functions as a virtual hub that produces and disseminates up-to-date and essential information about COVID-19 and provides a platform for users to share experiences and emotions accompanying the unprecedented situation. This study points out that the participation of Chinese international students in the online community is voluntary and based on established infrastructure because of the presence of a greater number of Chinese students in South Korea. Thus, it urges the government and local authorities to be more aware of the importance of providing adequate support and guidance to linguistic minorities in such uncertain and frightening times.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, COVID-19, Pandemics, Language Minorities, Foreign Students, Asians, Computer Mediated Communication, Social Media, Public Health, Health Promotion, Information Dissemination, Prevention, College Students, Translation, Chinese, Korean, Migrants
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A