South Korea’s multiculturalism

Posted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Media Archive, Social Science, Videos on 2013-05-22 19:15Z by Steven

South Korea’s multiculturalism

Al Jazeera
The Stream
2013-05-21

How is the nation dealing with its growing diversity?

A multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society is an emerging reality that is leading to a lot of racial and social discord in South Korea. Faced with an aging population and an influx of migrant wives, many are clinging to their “one-blood” ethnically homogenous national identity. Today the government is scrambling to focus a sound multicultural vision for the country. How are South Koreans adapting to their rapidly changing population?

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Cindy Lou Howe, Director
“Even the Rivers”

Gregory Diggs-Yang, President,
The Mack Foundation

Also on Google Hangout: Yoo Eun Lee, Sajin Kwok, and Sarah Shaw.

Read the story and watch the video here.

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Even The Rivers: A film about educating South Korea’s multiethnic generation.

Posted in Asian Diaspora, Census/Demographics, Media Archive, Social Science, Videos on 2013-05-10 15:01Z by Steven

Even The Rivers: A film about educating South Korea’s multiethnic generation.

April 2013

Cindy Lou Howe, Director

Matt Kelley, Producer

Uikwon Lee, Researcher

“In 10 years, even the rivers and mountains change.”
—Korean proverb

South Korea has seemingly always known dramatic change. Created after Japanese colonization and a devastating civil war, the nation became one of history’s most remarkable economic success stories. Today, many South Koreans are proud that their former “Hermit Kingdom” is a global economic and cultural powerhouse, hosting the Olympics and exporting everything from Galaxy smartphones to “Gangnam Style.”

Despite this constant change, South Korea remains one of the world’s most ethnically homogeneous societies. According to recent statistics, just two percent of South Koreans are immigrants, the bulk of whom are ethnic Koreans from China. Many Koreans cling to a “one blood” national identity that emphasizes so-called “pure” bloodlines, a notion borne of nationalist and anti-imperialist movements from the turn of the last century.

This self-concept, however, is increasingly at odds with the nation’s changing demographics. Urbanization, immigration and one of the world’s lowest fertility rates have resulted in a multi-ethnic baby boom for South Korea. According to the 2010 Census, there are over 150,000 children in the country with at least one parent of non-Korean heritage. By 2020, the government estimates there will be over 1.6 million multi-ethnic South Koreans, including half of all children living in rural areas…

For more information, click here.

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