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The surprising story of a multicultural family in South Korea: How do they find their place in tradition?
As globalization deepens, more and more families with non-Korean cultural backgrounds are taking root in South Korea. These families include transnational marriages with foreign partners, foreign worker families, and North Korean refugee families. The South Korean government has gradually adjusted its policies to support the lives of these multicultural families and enable them to integrate into the framework of traditional society. This phenomenon not only demonstrates the diversity of South Korean culture, but also reflects the changes in the domestic social structure.
The establishment of a multicultural family is not only an integration of ethnic groups, but also an important manifestation of social inclusion.
Taking international marriage families as an example, in such families, at least one parent is a Korean citizen and the other is a foreigner. Foreign worker families usually include foreigners working in Korea and their children. South Korea has gradually stepped up its support for these families, including providing language schools and cultural adaptation services.
Children from multicultural families
Children in multicultural families are often categorized as children of international marriages and children of foreign workers. These children not only have to deal with language and cultural differences, but they may also feel confused about their identity in society. For example, children from foreign mothers and Korean fathers are often categorized into different social roles, making their identities unclear.
Many mixed-race children are bullied at school and face rejection by their peers, research has found.
Cultural Acceptance and Challenge
South Korea is traditionally seen as a monoethnic country, and children of mixed descent are often considered a minority. The number of such children is rising as international marriages increase, but their place in society remains challenging. This situation reflects the strong obsession with "pure bloodline", which makes it difficult for many children to identify with their own culture.
Current situation and legal policies
According to statistics in 2015, there were 207,693 children in multicultural families in South Korea, of which 60% were children under the age of 6. The need for education is particularly acute among school-age children, whose number increases by about 7,000 to 10,000 per year. Legal policies for these children have been in place since 2008, with the aim of providing the support needed by multicultural families and helping them better adapt to Korean society.
“Education is the key to a child’s integration into society.”
Economic and social analysis
The South Korean job market is challenging for children from multicultural families. According to 2015 data, only 27.1% of children from multicultural families aged 15 and above could find a job. This figure reflects their difficult reality in terms of social integration and economic independence. The government has launched several support schemes to help these children, such as a vocational training programme specifically for young people who want to gain professional qualifications.
ConclusionFaced with many challenges and opportunities, Korean multicultural families not only need support in their search for self-identity, but also have to face social prejudice and unequal treatment. How to strike a balance between one's own culture and mainstream culture will be an important issue in the future diverse society. Can we be more accepting of this multiculturalism and create a more inclusive society for all families?
