Koreans found negative in accepting multiculturalism

General people’s awareness about multiculturalism appeared to be neither positive or negative.

Ahn Sang-oo, researcher of the Korea Women’s Development Institute, said Saturday (July 25) that the average culture receptivity index among Korean people was found to be 51 points (full marks: 100 points) in a survey conducted on some 2,500 people in the age bracket of 19 to 74 years about their openness, national identity and their willingness to act as a world citizen.

She made the ramarks in the 5th Multi Multiculture Family Forum, held under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family on July 25th, 2012 at the Korea Federation of Banks.

In a lecture, titled “Policy direction and task to elevate national multiculture receptivity,”  Ahn explained that “there is no criteria to decide if the receptivity got higher or lower because this is the survey conducted for the first time in our country.” However, he said, “considering the fact that average index of other countries among the people in the upper 20 percent stands at 70 points, continuous efforts to enhance multiculture receptivity here are necessary in the days to come,” she pointed out.

She further said “in case of those in the low-income bracket whose labor markets overlapp with foreign laborers or locals who work in the simple labor job, their multiculture receptivity appeared to stand below 50 points.” She advised that relevant authorities are asked to seek ways to elevate multicultre receptivity for those liable to be in a competitive relations with foreign workers for jobs.

With regard to the fact that majority of Korean people view the coexistence with multicultural people negatively while people in foreign countries consider the immigrants as part of their society, Ahn said most of the people here don’t feel vividly their existence itself and fail to understand well about the need to transfer our society into a multicultural one.

The receptiity index was also found  low even among those having frequent exchange with immigrants or having foreigners as their relatives, she said. They were learned to have unilateral expectation that emigrants must strive themselves to accommodate themselves to Korean culture and customs, according to her. 

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