‘Korea’s Challenges in Multiculturalism Policy: A Perspective from Singapore’

Faced with the challenge of an increasingly multicultural society, South Korea has adopted an incoherent policy of assimilating immigrants and mixed marriages into Korean society, rather than accepting the cultural diversity of the migrants. Yet, Seoul’s lack of policy coordination in assimilation has failed to provide a clear roadmap for the long-term, even whilst its society is grappling to understand and accept multiculturalism. Rather, a comparative study suggests that Singapore’s policy of harmonisation, in which peoples of differing backgrounds are embraced as part of a nation that is bound by shared civic values, may help offer a more realistic approach to dealing with multiculturalism.