A study of trends in narrative inquiry in Korean language education

Narrative inquiry is acknowledged for its methodological value in deeply understanding personal experiences within social, cultural, and historical contexts, thereby enriching the depth and insights of academic studies. This study focuses on two main questions. First, it examines the temporal characteristics of narrative inquiry in the field of Korean language education. Second, it explores the topics that have been studied through narrative inquiry in this domain. Based on these research questions, this study analyzes the themes of academic journal articles and dissertations over the past 18 years to identify the key areas of interest and shifts in focus among scholars in Korean language education. It also suggests directions for future studies in the field. The analysis reveals that narrative inquiry began to gain significant attention in the 2010s, with a sharp increase in studies after 2014, influenced by the expansion of multicultural society and the growing emphasis on qualitative methodologies. Major topics include learner and teacher experiences (51%), identity (14%), and adaptation (11%). Additionally, other themes such as career exploration, learning motivation, lifelong learning, and educational strategies were identified, with career and job exploration emerging as a particularly prominent focus in recent years. The study participants were mainly international students (31%), teachers (27%), and marriage migrant women (17%). By analyzing their linguistic and cultural adaptation processes and identity formation, this study sheds light on the multicultural structure of Korean society and its potential for social integration. This study is significant in that it provides practical guidelines for designing studies and selecting topics in Korean language education using narrative inquiry. However, it has limitations as it predominantly focuses on domestic trends, lacking exploration of international comparisons and the global applicability of Korean language education. Future studies are encouraged to investigate the uniqueness and global applicability of Korean language education through comparative analyses with various multicultural societies.