South Koreans' attitudes toward foreigners, minorities and multiculturalism

As a result of international migration and growth of racial/ethnic minorities, South Korean society has entered the first phase of multicultural society. Because multicultural values that acknowledge and respect cultural diversity and minority groups‟ rights are an important pre-condition of a multicultural society, we examined the current situation of South Koreans‟ attitudes toward foreigners, minorities, and multiculturalism and their willingness to support the government ‟s policies to support racial/ethnic and cultural minorities. For this purpose, we used a set of large-scale sample surveys that examined South Koreans‟ notions of national identity, attitudes toward foreigners and racial/ethnic minorities, and social distance feelings toward foreigners and minority groups. Main findings are as follow. South Koreans are more open and tolerant toward foreigners and immigrants living in South Korea than previously believed. They are, however, defensive and protectionist toward foreign capital and culture that compete with South Korean capital and culture. (The rest omitted)

Paper prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Boston, MA from August 1-4, 2008.