Friendship with my own kind. The immigrant adolescents defined good friends as those who are ‘kind and considerate,’ ‘understanding,’ and ‘helpful’ to them. Most of the ‘best friends’ the participants took pictures of were other immigrant kids from similar backgrounds. One participant, who missed the orientation, joined the first session and told, ‘if I have taken picture about friends, I would have taken a picture of my only one friend in school. She came from China and understands me well because we share the common backgrounds with me.’ Another talked about her weekend outing to go shopping with her immigrant friends. It was ‘so much fun’ to have variation from her daily routines (see Figure 1). All the participants seemed to find friendship with other immigrants from the same countries.

Making friends at school. Most of the immigrant adolescents shared the experiences of having been ostracized by peers, particularly at school. They thought they were ‘looked down,’ because they ‘come from a different country and cannot speak the right language.’ One related the following example: ‘If I read aloud the text book in class, then they pick on me for the whole day because of my accent… I was even told to go back to my own country… I don’t like Korean kids.’ The participant described the school as ‘a place for learning, not for friendship.’ Many seemed to give up on expecting warm friendship from peers at school. Such feeling is illustrated by a participant, ‘I don’t speak at school… but it is okay… I go to school not because I want to make friends with Korean kids, but to study for myself.’ They seemed to fail to enjoy the social aspects of school attendance (see Figure 3).

Many believed that their classmates kept teasing them because their Korean is not good enough to report it to the teacher; and even if they did, they believed that the teacher would not actively intervene. One to three years was the range of their waiting time before entering the school system in Korea, resulting in age differences from their classmates. This made it so that even those who got along relatively well with their classmates felt it was difficult to make friends because they were a few years older than their classmates. One participant said, ‘I am two years older than my classmates. They say I behave like an adult and weird. I think they are so young and childish.’ The loneliness experienced at school is illustrated by the photo in Figure 2. The immigrant adolescents responded differently to such hostile attitudes from peers. Some were trying to avoid them and pretend not to understand or listen to them, while others were responding actively, for example, by swearing in their own language, which occasionally led to some fights.

Inside school. Most of their daily life is spent in school, but their school life seems not engaging to them, as one said, ‘I spend the whole day in school, just studying, with no friends, just sleeping in class (see Figure 4).’ They were generally struggling both with social relationships and academic work at school. Some expressed not liking the fact that they had to fall behind in their education schedule by saying, ‘I don’t like to go to school. I am supposed to be at the third grade in high school, but I am at the first grade.’ Although most said that school is important for their future and that they should study hard to get a good job in the future, they reported that the classes were ‘too boring.’ All of them seemed to have difficulty keeping up with the school work because of the combination of reasons such as; a lack of language, different education styles from their original countries, and heavier workloads than their original countries. They found rare joyful moments at school by making phone calls and texting with their friends who are outside of school during the class breaks.

Outside school. Most of the participants’ social relationships were formed outside school. They mentioned private after-school learning centers, churches, and community youth centers as an important place for their daily lives and social activities. Some spent much time in commuting to the places where they can interact with other immigrants with similar backgrounds (see Figure 5). They hang out with these friends in karaoke or pocket billiards clubs. Online social network clubs were important channels for them to meet other immigrants.

Out of the regular school system. Two participants were outside of the regular school system and instead attended a preparation program provided by a civil organization for immigrant youths. One reported spending much time hanging out with his friends and playing computer games. Oftentimes, the participant has responsibility for taking care of a two-year-old half-brother born of the mother’s second marriage while the mother and stepfather were at work (see Figure 6).

Food. Food was a main topic of their cultural experiences. Most participants talked about how different food and eating cultures are between their home country and Korea. All of them remembered their first experiences of tasting Korean foods. One said, ‘I couldn’t eat because of the unique Korean tastes, hot and spicy (in the school cafeteria).’ While they adjusted to the tastes and crave for the tastes now, they still do not like some Korean foods such as ‘smelly’ fish. Many expressed a strong sense of nostalgia towards some foods that are unique in their original countries. Showing the photos of their traditional foods, they shared that they missed their foods and stories behind them (see Figure 7). Another showed the photograph of a special type of ice cream. The participant wished to take her own photos of it, but had to download one from the Internet, because it can be found only in her native Mongolia.

Boys. All the girls mentioned that they were surprised at the different fashion styles and demeanors of Korean boys from boys in their original countries. To their eyes, the Korean boys are ‘too feminine’ and are ‘like girls.’ One said, ‘Korean boys wear skinny jeans, make-up, and long nails, which never happen in my home country.’ They also said that Korean boys behaved “like girls,” and were sometimes rude to them, which was ‘not gentleman-like’ and different from boys in their original countries. Dating cultures among teenagers also differed: In their original countries boys pay for the expenses, whereas in Korea boys prefer ‘dutch-pay’ in dating. The participating boys were quiet and shy of talking about dating. The girls kept saying that they did not like many things about Korean boys as described in Figure 8. But, they seemed to be interested in them because the boys were one of their central topics.

School culture. The immigrant adolescents also talked about their cultural shock at the differences in school life. Cultural differences were observed in many accounts. All of them did not like the school culture in Korea, such as strict dress codes, school uniforms, and intense daily schedule. Also, they reported being stressed because of the long classes and competitive atmosphere in Korea. In their original countries, they were able to hang out with friends, but in Korea, they are required to take additional after-school learning programs. They also felt more exposed to violence at school in Korea than in their home countries, encountering frequent violent fights among students and corporal punishment at school and at home. One told, ‘I have never been hit at home, but at the middle school that I go to, I was hit by a teacher because of my homework. I cried.’

Family. Most of the immigrant adolescents talked about the unconditional love from their families. For example, one participant defined it as ‘loving someone without any expectations for return.’ As illustrated in Figure 9, many appreciated being together with family after having the experience of family separation. Some expressed mixed feelings of love and hate towards their infant siblings for whom they had responsibility while their parents went to work. One said, ‘I took this picture of my baby brother because I hate him. To love someone is also to hate him. You can’t live without him. If that person is gone, you will miss him, that’s love.’ Many participants often talked about caring for younger siblings. They had mothers who worked long hours, so they were given the care-taker’s role. Particularly in the step families, there were large age differences between the participants and their younger step siblings.

Missing those far away. Many said that they were missing their relatives and friends they had left behind in their original countries (see Figure 10). They were ‘sad’ to think of them. One said, ‘My grandma and grandpa cry whenever I call. I feel helpless and sad, but I cannot drop everything here and just go to meet them.’ Another expressed her desperate feeling of missing her loved ones by saying, ‘I have not seen them for four years. I feel like I am going crazy.’ Most used the Internet phones to communicate with the people in the original countries (see Figure 11). The Internet was an important channel that they were able to connect with their loved one far away.

Dreams. The participants wanted to talk about their future and dreams. Most wished to work in skill-oriented professions such as a make-up artist, a hair stylist, or a fashion designer (see Figure 12). One said that she wanted to become a make- up artist because it is a ‘feminine job.’ Others echoed such remarks, so it seemed that many had gender-specific concepts about occupations. Some said that their future dreams had changed after immigration. A participant used to be a good student in the original country and dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, but no longer thinks it is possible in Korea because it is impossible to get good grades now. Another talked about the previous dream of becoming a chef, but now wants to become a make-up artist, just because the person developed different interests in Korea. The change of the immigrant adolescents’ status in many aspects of life in the new country and their exposure to different values in society seemed to have changed their future dreams. As illustrated in Figure 13, however, their career wants seemed not to be explored and further developed partly because their dreams are different from their parents’ expectations, or they simply do not receive adequate attention to help develop their dreams.

I like myself. Most participants said that they were ‘proud’ of themselves, ‘quite good,’ ‘capable,’ and ‘lovable.’ Although they recognized that they were struggling to adjust to their life in Korea, they emphasized that they maintained a sense of self worth. By repeating that they still liked themselves, they might have tried to keep the continuity of their identities amongst the radical changes in their lives.

Stress sources. Classes being ‘not understandable and not interesting’ were a major stressor for the immigrant adolescents. They wanted to work hard, but particularly math and social science subjects were challenges for them. As illustrated in Figure 14, having exams stressed them extremely. They wished to have a translator who could communicate what the teacher said in their original language so that they could understand them easily. Strict disciplines at school and teasing from classmates were also mentioned as main stressors. Some said that they were told, ‘Why did you come to Korea? You should have stayed in your own country.’ and ‘What’s wrong with your skin color?’ Some expressed a sense of loss because they previously loved studying and playing with friends and teachers in their original countries and they missed loving people around them. One said, ‘I used to be excellent at school in Russia and mom expects me to do as well here in Korea. Now I am not good any longer and mom thinks that I am not studying hard enough.’

Energy sources. All of the participants had their favorite teachers who were ‘cool,’ ‘fun,’ ‘handsome,’ and ‘used interesting and accessible teaching methods.’ These teachers and interactions with friends gave them a source of happiness at school. As illustrated in Figure 15, most of them would run to the school backyard during the breaks to ‘make phone calls,’ ‘hide in [their] safe zones,’ and ‘smoke.’ Computers were important tools not only for playing games, but also for listening music and, in particular, for networking with their old friends in their original countries and making new friends with similar backgrounds. As illustrated in Figure 16, the Center for Immigrants was mentioned as another energy source; there is a library with books in their own languages and they can meet other immigrants there. One said that she went to the Center three to four times a week. Community Children & Youth Center was also reported as a place to meet and talk with their friends. To cope with their stress they would sing, take a shower, do make-up, play pocket billiards, listen to music, drink, smoke, and eat sweets.

The adolescent immigrants discussed their immigration experiences under the themes of friends, my daily life, culture, love, myself, stress and energy sources. There are several points noteworthy in the study findings. First, adolescent immigrants might be ostracized and pushed aside to the periphery in the school settings. Many are, in fact, out of the regular school system. According to a policy report (Korean Women’s Development Institute, 2011), only 5.2 per cent of the adolescent immigrants are in the regular school system. Even those who are in the regular school system feel marginalized, as illustrated in many photos from this study. Using the photo (see Figure 15) of the wired fence between school and the outside world, the adolescent told that she went to that place whenever possible to enjoy her time alone. The wired fence reminds the authors of a wired fence in prison and we cannot help guessing that it might represent the adolescent’s feeling of being in prison. The activities that should be the core of the school life, such as studying and socializing, were the stresses for these adolescents. Instead they escape the classroom whenever possible and try to connect with people outside of the school. What makes them linger at the margins of school without mingling with their Korean peers and becoming immersed in education? The other findings from this study imply possible answers to this question, but there should be further research.

Second, many factors were forming the setting that naturally pushes adolescent immigrants aside to the margins in school. Korean immigration services and policies have focused on foreign brides and their children, so school systems are not ready for adolescent immigrants. Educational policies supporting the adolescents’ school adjustments are lacking. The Korean school system and atmosphere have unique features, such as high expectations and emphasis on academics, intense daily schedule, long hours spent in school, high standards for school regulations. Immigrant adolescents enter the schools without being prepared for the potential cultural shocks from the different systems. The major challenge for the ill-prepared students seems to be language problems. This was mentioned as one of the main sources for getting teased and misunderstood by their classmates. They are torn between the options of being quiet and victimized, or protesting the pride-hurting experiences. It is impossible to comprehend the school curriculum and learn much without fluent communication skills. It is no wonder that those who used to be good students in their original countries fall behind at school in the new countries. To such challenges resulting from cultural and language problems, schools respond by trying not to accept immigrant adolescents as evidenced by the very low percentage (5.2 per cent) of immigrants in regular schools, because they would‘make trouble.’ Instead of rejecting the students, proactive efforts to integrate the students in regular school system are in order. Integrative programs that teach Korean language and history to the immigrant adolescents in the regular schools are the necessary first step to enhance their adjustments to school and immigrant country.

Third, the adolescents were resilient despite all the challenges. Many problematic issues among immigrant children have been found in the existing studies, such as their lack of adjustment, etc (Lee & Song, 2011). In the current study, resilience of the adolescent immigrants was illustrated in many of their photographs and narratives. Although facing challenges at school, they thought that education was the way to become successful in the future, which motivated them to be good students. They knew that they were good at some things, giving them a source of personal pride. Instead of focusing on the loss of the dreams that they once had in the original countries, they were developing new personal dreams. They were aware of both their stressors and energy sources, which seemed to help them utilize resources to cope with their realistic issues. They seemed to appreciate that they were now able to live together with their families. The Community Center for Immigrants seemed to play a role of resilience enhancer for the immigrant adolescents Meeting friends who go through similar immigration experience and exchange information and emotional support with them seem to provide significant help for their early adjustment. The Center’s libraries seem to be hubs of news and information about their home countries. Resilience factors should be considered when developing programs in such community centers. We believe that using Photovoice enabled them to express their positive feelings about themselves. In another study using Photovoice (Yi & Zebrack, 2010), immigrant young adult cancer survivors also chose to talk about positive self images and their energy sources. Future research needs to include not only problem-oriented but also strength-oriented approaches in understanding and helping this population. It is encouraging that the adolescents remained strong despite the difficult changes, but we do not know how long they can keep resilient without external help in such a dismal situation.

Fourth, cultural issues were important aspects to understand among adolescent immigrants. Culture is often neglected in research on this population when traditional survey methods are used. With cameras in their own hands and control over the discussion topics, culture emerged as one of the major themes. They missed what they had left behind in their home countries: people, foods, and familiar cultures. Their main support systems in the new country were still those from the same countries or those in similar situations-other immigrants. Nevertheless, they seemed to be in cultural transition, as illustrated by their changing food preferences. Some authentic Korean foods had turned from something unbearable at first to something they crave. They know that they have to change, and they seemed to want to change and make friends with new people. Although the girls listed many reasons that they ‘don’t like’ Korean boys in comparison to boys from their own cultures, they still seemed to be interested in them. How they develop perspectives about their peers and the opposite sex is important for their current and future social relationships including romantic ones.

Fifth, family present a complex set of issues for adolescent immigrant children. Family was the source of energy for them, but other problems may stem from the structural issues in the family. Adolescent immigrants living in Korea are unique in many ways. Families are known to be a very important resilience-enhancing factor in the adjustment among immigrant youths. Adolescent immigrants living in Korea have already experienced a turbulent family history as a part of their coming to Korea. Typically, they have experienced parental divorce and several years of separation from one or both of parents. Upon settling down in Korea, they face additional challenges adjusting to a stepfamily. Family support and cohesion may be relatively weaker than their counterparts in other countries who immigrated with their family. The families often settle down in neighborhoods where a large number of people are poor or new immigrants. Even when teachers and social workers provide support services for these youths, resources are sparse. Their unique issues merge into the issues of poverty in the end. In summary, adolescent immigrants often face the life-changing process of immigration with little support from society and schools, and weak family coherence.

Based on the study findings, we suggest that adolescent immigrants in the regular school system should have resources and attention to keep them from being marginalized. Language training for this population is urgent. Diversity training for teachers and administrators as well as students would be helpful for those who have never been exposed to people from different cultures to help them better understand the immigrants. On the other hand, programs to prepare adolescent immigrants for their new host culture would be also needed. Adolescent immigrants behave according to the cultural expectations of their home countries, which might differ from Korean cultural expectations. The behavioral problems eclipse the adolescents’ positive potential and strengths. If the society expects and demands the same kinds of behaviors and achievements from immigrant adolescents as from non-immigrants, they will continue to be considered to be inferior, which aggravates their self esteem and existential self identity. This creates a vicious cycle of poor adjustment in school and conflicts in families, which leads to parenting challenges and parental neglect. All these difficulties among adolescent immigrants are added to the inherent turbulence of their normal adolescent development. Their culturally awkward and undesirable ehaviors can stigmatize them, leading them to cope with the adjustment stress through unhealthy channels.

Probably the most important change should occur in the mindset of immigration policy makers. Adolescent immigrants have been disregarded in policy making, but they are becoming a significant part of the citizenship. Their physical health and mental wellbeing will affect the national health. It is important to understand their issues and provide necessary preventive services for them before their challenges become overwhelming and to help them smoothly adjusted and embraced into the society

A few limitations of this study should be considered in interpreting the results. First, the participants might not be representative of the general population of adolescent immigrants in Korea or other countries as only six participants from one location participated in this study. The participants had ethnic heritage from China, Mongolia, and Russia, which cannot lead to the representation of the experiences of immigrant adolescents from other cultures. However, the focus of this study lied not on representing the population, but picturing the rich lived experiences of several immigrant adolescents, which would be meaningful information for future study. Second, we purposely selected a sample with diversity in the country of origin, gender, and ages, so association of these demographic characteristics with their reported experiences could not be examined. However, understanding the common themes that emerge through the participants’ group process is the main purpose of a Photovoice study. Third, causal relationships could not be established because pre-immigration data and/or comparison groups were not available. This means that their experiences might come from their original personality traits, not from immigration. Although generalizability is limited by small sample size, prolonged engagement and triangulation contributed to credibility and utility of the research. The project lasted for seven sessions conducted over a two month period, establishing a prolonged engagement and thereby ameliorating some of the effects of reactivity and respondent bias (Padgett, 1998). The participants’ lack of Korean language proficiency was a challenge in our Photovoice study, but for the same reason, Photovoice might have been a good choice of method, giving insight into their lived experiences of immigration through nonverbal images.