Challenges and Negotiations of a Young, Female, and Unmarried Researcher: Reflections on Fieldwork in South Korea

• Main Author: YoonKyung Kwak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2019-07-01
• Series: International Journal of Qualitative Methods
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919860388

This article presents my personal reflections on the process of conducting fieldwork as part of my PhD research into participant recruitment in South Korea. I discuss the challenges and negotiations I faced during my PhD fieldwork. The aim is to examine the following three issues: (1) obstacles faced in gaining entry to the fieldwork sample when conducting research in my own country, (2) the influence of my personal identity (i.e., my gender, race, class, religion, nationality, and age) on my fieldwork experiences, and (3) the research process itself and the strategies I used to overcome my vulnerability and marginality. I conclude by raising several ethical considerations and dilemmas, followed by a discussion of the significant implications of the study topic in terms of researcher safety and well-being when undertaking fieldwork and how this can be ameliorated.