Authors : Joong-Hwan Oh and Sangmoon Kim
Abstract: This study attempts to examine the role and importance of an ethnic online network and resulting social capital (social resources and social support) in the research on housing and community. To that end, first of all, social capital is identified in this study as both housing and community-related information (social resources) channeled among members of the Korean-American women’s online community, known as "MissyUSA" (missyusa.com). Second, this study also regards social capital as a support network among its online members on the basis of their commonly shared identity, mother tongue (Korean), culture, birth country (Korea), positions in the family (a housewife and/or mother) and life experiences in their new country (immigration status). Overall, this study shows that the "MissyUSA" community functions as both an information conduit and a support network needed to help tackle some of its online member’s housing and community concerns regardless of their whereabouts in the United States.
Joong-Hwan Oh and Sangmoon Kim, 2018. Housing and Community Messages on a Korean-American Online Community: The Importance of Social Capital. The Social Sciences, 13: 1355-1365.