In Immigrant Incorporation in East Asian Democracies, Erin Aeran Chung explores whether there is an East Asian model of immigrant incorporation. To be clear, by referring to immigration incorporation, Chung gestures to “the process by which immigrants and their descendants shift their status from sojourners to political participants who make claims as permanent members of their receiving societies” (pp. 6–7). Specifically, Chung points out that, prior to the 2000s, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan—despite labor shortages and aging populations—all shared restrictive immigration policies and practices. That said, in the mid-2000s, Chung posits that while Korea dramatically expanded its receival of migrants as well as rights for immigrants, Japan has created few reforms to immigration policy, and Taiwan lags behind in ensuring immigrant rights and welfare. Ultimately, Chung argues that civil-society actors, a category which includes migrants, shape immigration public opinion, policy, and patterns of migrant mobilization. Thus, Chung self-admittedly diverges from popular scholarship that views culture, political elites, and international norms as driving forces of diverging policies toward immigrant incorporation in East Asian industrial democracies.

Chung's work focuses on four key areas in order to assess immigrant incorporation: immigrant self-identification; immigrant claims-making; the presence or absence of immigrant incorporation policies, services, and rights at the state-level; and, finally, comparative analysis of policy reforms. Moreover, Immigrant Incorporation in East Asian Democracies explores three levels of variation vis-à-vis immigrant incorporation. First, cross-regional divergences in immigrant incorporation in East Asia and Western industrial democracies. Second, cross-national differences between Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Third, intra-national distinctions in “immigration and citizenship policies and practices among different migrant sub-categories” (p. 4).

Chung grounds this analysis in 150 interviews with civil-society actors and government officials as well as 28 focus groups with migrant communities in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. In doing so, she contends that civil-society actors have drawn on civic legacies—that is, tools and methods that marginalized populations have historically used to further incorporation—in order to further immigrant incorporation “in the absence of official immigrant incorporation programs at the national level” (p. 4). Moreover, in relation to civic legacies, this work holds that civic legacies and immigration itself are the cause of current immigrant incorporation patterns.

As a whole, Chung presents a sound argument supplemented by a range of scholarly discourse. Likewise, this work presents a varied and comprehensive set of both qualitative and quantitative evidence to arrive at the conclusion that civil-society actors influence immigrant incorporation to varying degrees in countries with intersecting immigration and citizenship policies. That said, Chung is careful not to overstate the conclusions of this analysis. For example, Chung points out that, in and of themselves, civil-society actors cannot solely account for immigrant incorporation patterns. To this end, Immigrant Incorporation in East Asian Democracies is able to intricately combine original scholarly contributions and future areas for research.

The judicious and considered use of argumentation in Chung's work is not its sole strength. On a separate note, the incorporation of immigrants’ lived experiences into this analysis is especially strong. Specifically, by basing this account on interviews and focus groups with immigrants in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, Chung considers the varied experiences of individuals who navigate their identity as immigrants on a daily basis. As Chung points out, entwining the stories of immigrants into this work aids in understanding five key considerations. First, what does immigrant incorporation mean to immigrants? Second, how do immigrants self-identify in regard to their receiving societies and other immigrants? Third, at what juncture, if at any, do immigrants perceive themselves as settled in their receiving societies? Fourth, what leads immigrants to understand their rights and responsibilities? And fifth, what encourages immigrants to participate in politics or discourages them from doing so? The use of interviews and focus groups is a poignant method by which to let subaltern speak.

Nonetheless, as the author acknowledges, the use of interviews and focus groups in this book presents one potential weakness. Interviewees and focus group participants were recruited from migrant advocacy groups, and the sample of voices included in this project is thus likely not representative of wider immigrant populations in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. For example, as these participants were recruited from existing migrant advocacy groups, they may be more politically involved than the average migrant. At the same time, participation in interviews and focus groups often reflects a time commitment that individuals at the margins of society may not be able to manage. Thus, while the author is correct in arguing that the recruitment of participants from pre-existing groups allows for the observation of natural day-to-day interactions (p. 210), this method of recruitment likely excludes immigrants who are not well connected in their receiving countries or those who are not politically involved. Indeed, while Chung asserts that the incorporation of immigrant experiences into this project aids in understanding what can discourage immigrants from political participation, the individuals represented in this sample are all, to some degree, participants in politics. One way to deal with such issues in future research is to recruit interview and focus group participants who are not involved with migrant advocacy groups as well as those who are involved with such groups.

Overall, Immigrant Incorporation in East Asian Democracies provides a lasting contribution, given the primacy of its comparative appraisal of immigration incorporation patterns and citizenship regimes in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. This work will be of interest for scholars of migration and East Asian studies as well as those interested in exploring the relationship between immigrant incorporation and democracy. Moreover, the use of interviews and focus groups in this account can aid scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in furthering understandings of the lived experiences of migrants. Thus, this work can further discussions on the politics of immigrant incorporation and, more specifically, on the factors that explain variations in national incorporation policies. To this end, Chung's book is a vital contribution to discussions of immigrant incorporation as a process of negotiation between states and civil-society actors. Relatedly, Immigrant Incorporation in East Asian Democracies can aid in understanding the political choices made by migrants.