[View the story "South Korea's multiculturalism" on Storify ]South Korea's multiculturalism How is the nation dealing with its growing diversity? Storified by The Stream · Tue, May 21 2013 09:52:54
One of the sources of South Korea's growing multicultural population is a
steady increase in number of migrant workers coming to the country:
Korea MigrantsAJstream
This episode of Al Jazeera's 101 East examines Korea's booming mail-order bride business, another significant contibuting factor to the country's changing demographics:
101 East - Asian brides for salealjazeeraenglish
Jasmine Lee is an advocate for immigrant rights and the
first ever member of South Korea's National Assembly from a foreign background. In the video below, she discusses Korean attitudes toward multiculturalism, and the need for multicultural support policies from the South Korean government:
Multicultural Support Policies in Korea [Korea Today]arirangtoday
Lee and the policies she advocates have experienced
significant backlash from South Koreans who are opposed to multiculturalism.
@jsok0163: A 1-person protest in front of the National Assembly against multiracial policies made without citizen consent. Discard the multicultural policy. There's an 80% divorce rate for international marriages; it's hurting South Korean men. Sign Translation: Created without citizen consent/ Multiethnic & multicultural policies/ Discard them immediately! Make the counterfeiter Jasmine Lee/ Immediately pay the penalty!!
RT @jsok0163:RT @jsok0163:RT @jsok0163:국회앞 1인시위 국민동의없는 다인종.다문화정책 폐기하라.국제 결혼 이혼률 80프로 한국남자 죽어간다.
http://twitpic.com/afs1th 다문화정책 반대
With South Korea's changing demographics, increasing numbers of students from a multicultural background are enrolling in South Korean schools.
Drop out rates are high as many multicultural students experience trouble adjusting and face
significant barriers to preparatory school admission. The
infographic below shows the growth of South Korea's multicultural student population:
Multicultural students graphAJstream
The South Korean government has
announced plans for adding more special preparatory schools for international students. Some netizens criticised increased segregation as a means of addressing the plight of multicultural students:
@AJStream NO it is not, segegation never solved anything,just entrenching differences,and encouraging a siege mentality.Norma Mather
The video below is a news report from Korean public television station MBC that portrayed relationships with foreigners in a negative light. The report insinuates that dating non-Koreans increases risks of HIV and abuse.
Korea and Xenophobiamadstote
The MBC segment prompted significant backlash from many Korean netizens. A
Facebook page with over 6,000 members urges action against MBC and other "racism and prejudice found in Korean media":
Facebook Page - Action against MBC KoreaAJstream
Some local communities in South Korea have established support centres to provide assistance to their multicultural populations:
@missque38: [Seongnam spokesman] "We're all Seongnam citizens, the support plan to ensure/expect a happy and hopeful life for Koreans"
