Multiculturalism and Interethnic Communication in Korea: An Examination of the Context-Behavior Factors

Abstract

Korean society, which once took pride in its ethnic homogeneity, is now struggling to embrace multiculturalism. As a society moving toward multiculturalism, South Korea needs a paradigm shift of political cultures and expanding cultural boundaries. Based on Kim’s (1997, 2005) contextual theory of interethnic communication, the present study examines theoretical relationships between/among the factors of the Communicator [identity inclusivity (exclusivity), identity security (insecurity)] and the Behavior (associative/dissociative behavior) as well as ideological orientation in South Korea. To collect the data, a structured questionnaire survey was used among 100 Korean adults in South Korea. The results show that the Korean respondents have strong and positive feelings toward their Korean identity. The overall ideological orientation among the respondents leans toward assimilationist viewpoints in the assimilation-pluralism continuum and integrationist viewpoints in the integrationism-separationism continuum. Those who consider their identity to be more flexible and inclusive are more likely to show more associative behavior toward people from a dissimilar ethnic background.

Keywords

Multiculturalism in Korea / interethnic communication / interethnic attitude / interethnic relationship / context-behavior interface / association and dissociation

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