"Kohyang" remembering where I am from: the concept of place of origin in the elaboration of collective and individual memory in South Korea

This study attempts to look at definition of Kohyang in Korea, from a memory studies approach. This methodological approach can investigate how the memory is mobilized in order to reconstruct the history of the individual along with the genealogical and symbolic links that bind him or her to other members of the family. Each family member creates different stories and biographical narratives and, at the same time, these stories are related to each other, contributing to collectiveness in the memory-making within a family. If memories build what we are, then places, which are constantly a part of our life, are certainly part of our memories and therefore part of us. The reminiscence of places in the family memories looks at how the relationships among family members are built. They can also be a way for the group to be cohesive, a “sedimentation” of affinities as much as rivalries. My intent is to investigate to what extent the recollection of Kohyang can be a measure of family group cohesion; how the continuous mobility of Koreans throughout their lives can affect their self-construction; and if the native place or place of family origin is just an imagery construction for people living in Seoul