Crossing Boundaries: Ethnic Trust Network and Expanded Social Engagement Among North Korean Refugees in London

Abstract

This study applies a social network approach to the study of migration. Analysis of a social network of 136 North Koreans refugees in Greater London indicates that individual refugees’ position in the network predicts their probability of developing connections beyond the immediate refugee community. The results show that refugees who are more central in the ethnic trust network, connecting different parts of the network, are more likely to interact with the receiving society by forming a greater number of and more diverse outgroup contacts. Further analysis reveals that the presence of family in the destination significantly predicts whether a refugee holds a central role in the trust network. The study suggests the primacy of family and coethnic ties by highlighting that coethnic networks grounded in trust may support the expansion of the network beyond the refugee community.