IndonesiaKOREA

Indonesia

West Sumatera, Indonesia

50 provincesOver 300 ethnic groupsOver 700 languages

Minang Kabau

- Minang Language- Matrilineal ( 모계사회 )- 100 % Moslem

RamadhanHalal & Haram FoodUnrevealing Outfit

Multiculturalism in Indonesia50 provincesOver 300 ethnic groupsOver 700 languages

Multiculturalism in Korea:

A Myth

Dewi Barnas

• Perspective of a “Temporary Settler” ( 방문 )

• Perspective of a “Settling Foreigner(?)”( 체류 외국인 )

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTTemporary Settler

Short Term Visitor: 5 weeks

June-July 2006

I LOVE KOREA!!

• People are not afraid of my veil, they find my style “unique”

• I can get around even though I didn’t speak one word of Korean language

Settling ForeignerExperience• Difference in attitude toward Asian foreigner and Caucasian foreigner

– Physical appearance– Speak Korean/English

• Scolded in the subway for speaking English with an African man.• Korean-looking friend scolded for her foreigner-friends speak loudly in the

subway.• Educational institution attracting foreign students do not accommodate

with bilingual information.• Even some professors show bigger interest toward students of Western

background.

Observation• Difference in attitude toward North American-Korean, Chinese-Korean,

and on. ( 교포 vs 고려인 vs 재일교포 vs 조선족 )

CHILDREN OF “KOSIAN” MARRIAGESettling Foreigner (?)

Kosian ?• Etymology: Korean-Asian

• Meaning: children from international marriage and child migrants

• Purpose of coining the word:- to facilitate accepting families

with multicultural background as neighbors

- to form a society where the diversity and dignity of Kosians are respected.

www.kosian.or.kr

Testimonials• “Koreans still have this stereotype that all ‘foreigners’ are white people. So,

when they see a Korean woman walking with a man from South Asia or from an Arab country, they give the couple a disdainful look.” (a Korean woman married to a Pakistani)

• “When I travel with my husband, we avoid buses and subways.” (a Korean woman married to a Pakistani)

• Jean, 36, a Filipina who married a Korean in 2007 and moved to Korea the same year. She is happily married to her husband but said Koreans regard foreign spouses and their children as lower in social status.

• Park Israr, a Pakistani native, and his wife Park Young-keum have experienced insults in the neighborhood and on the streets. “If I make a mistake, drivers on the streets call me names about my skin, and many times I have to overcome people’s biased ideas about being Korean .”

• Ms. Hahn said that her father and other relatives grilled her as to whether she was dating Mr. Hussain. But when a cousin recently married a German, “all my relatives envied her, as if her marriage was a boon to our family,” she said. (a Korean woman dating an Indian)

Korea Times (22 Aug 2008, 1 Nov 2009, 27 May 2007); NY Times (1 Nov 2009)

What have been done?

• Korea Immigration Service acknowledged that minorities in Korea suffer from discrimination and they plan to address them through policy changes and support.

http://video.naver.com/2009062216495635952

State-Led Multiculturalism vs.Society-Led Multiculturalism

• Change comes from the people, not regulation. Education and campaign about multiculturalism are extremely important.

• It is dangerous to start embracing this notion of a multicultural society, than, because it detracts from what still needs to be done, particularly regarding how Koreans perceive their own society.(Alec Haskard)

감사합니다…Thank you….