Courtesy of rawkkim

Every society has cultural diversity. This diversity might be based on religion, ethnicity, or nationality. The challenge is then how does each country understand this diversity and how does it respond to it. What stories does it tell about the various people that inhabit the land?

In some cases, the policy is simply to ignore or neglect the diversity. Countries can take the position that particular groups do not exist (or rather do not deserve to be acknowledged) and focus instead on unity. Elsewhere, during colonial times, the focus was on assimilation. This entailed making the minority group adopt the codes, values, and behaviors of the dominant group and so reducing visible diversity. This slowly gave way to ideas of integration. Here, we recognize the different groups that vary from the dominant culture and begin dialogue on how to make their lives easier. Now, much of the academic literature cites countries like Canada and Australia as the highest level of multiculturalism. There, diversity is not only acknowledged, it is celebrated. Seen as a resource. It allows for greater communication across cultures, which then promotes trade and economic development.

From a philosophical perspective, multiculturalism might also be understood as a response to egalitarianism. Societies often promote the idea that we are all equal and deserving of equal rights and opportunities. However, this equality is rarely exercised in practice. Women are often not required to serve in the military. People with disabilities are given differential treatment. And then there are holidays. What, for example, does Christmas in Western Europe mean to a Buddhist or a Hindu? These people want their own holidays and so the conversation then revolves around whether they will be accommodated, integrated, celebrated, or ignored.

Change in Korea

What was once a rather homogenous culture has slowly transformed, with large changes taking places in the 1990s. The buzzwords once adopted by governments and taste-makers of the past have changed: globalization and internationalism have been replaced by multiculturalism. What multiculturalism actually means, however, is........

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