Due to the Syrian civil war, about 1,100 Syrians have applied for asylum status in Korea, and almost all have obtained humanitarian protection status. Receiving refugees is a relatively new phenomenon in Korean society and many refugees may experience a hostile environment. Although a small number of Koreans show empathy to refugees, the majority have expressed serious security and financial concerns about hosting refugees. This qualitative study therefore looks at Syrian refugees’ sense of belonging in Car Town in Seoul, where approximately 50 Syrians have settled. Through interviews, informal talks, and observations, we investigate Syrians’ everyday lives, and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in the Korean society and in the local Syrian community. This study offers insights into different elements of belonging and how the politics of belonging and place-belongingness take shape, and in turn impact the sense of belonging of the Syrian refugees in Car Town and in Korea.

由于叙利亚内战，约有1100名叙利亚人在韩国申请了庇护身份，几乎所有人都获得了人道主义保护身份。接收难民在韩国社会是一个相对较新的现象，许多难民可能会经历敌对的环境。尽管少数韩国人对难民表示同情，但大多数人对收容难民表示严重的安全和经济问题。因此，这项定性研究着眼于叙利亚难民在首尔汽车城的归属感，那里约有 50 名叙利亚人定居。通过访谈、非正式会谈和观察，我们调查叙利亚人的日常生活，以及韩国社会和当地叙利亚社区的包容和排斥机制。