Korea gears up toward multiculturalism

When the sounds of a choir comprising 33 kids from diverse ethnic backgrounds filled the halls of the National Assembly last week, 27-year-old mother Mun Valeriya was drawing another picture in her head.

"I dreamed of having my own three-year-old child Hanna take part in the choir in the near future," she said.

The singing of the Rainbow Korea Chorus was part of an event held at the Assembly last Wednesday to draw attention to increasing multiculturalism in Korean society.

The event, which also included showcasing a traditional Vietnamese dance staged by people from multicultural backgrounds residing in Korea, was attended by Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o, former ruling Grand National Party Chairman Park Hee-tae, GNP Secretary General Chang Kwang-keun and about 20 other lawmakers.



Rainbow Korea Chorus, which was established in July, has gotten together at least twice a week - even going on a summer camp in August - to prepare themselves for upcoming events where they will be performing, according to Lee Hyun-jung, director of the chorus troupe.

"We were practicing at a time when the nation was hit with the H1N1 virus but we ignored it and just went ahead with our practice anyway," she said. "As a result, we were able to begin performing on stage in October, being featured for the first time at an Oct. 3 event attended by the president and the first lady."

The chorus, affiliated with a corporation aggregate called the Center for Multicultural Korea, is the first of its kind, which is an indication that multicultural families are currently receiving growing attention here.

As part of the effort, a ruling Grand National Party lawmaker Chin Young is most likely to submit a bill proposing a basic law on nurturing multiculturalism sometime this week.

Chin, who is a two-term lawmaker elected from the Yongsan district, is currently leading a group of 37 lawmakers, including two from opposition parties, who belong to a multiculturalism discussion forum.

According to the bill, a single central government ministry must be in charge of setting the main objective and direction of the policies on multicultural families every year.

It also demands the creation of a multicultural policy committee under the Prime Minister`s Office to lay out the action plans of the basic scheme and evaluate the related projects. It will be mainly responsible for conducting research affiliated to multiculturalism.

A foundation which launches promotional events to enhance the people`s understanding of multicultural families is also projected.

Adding to the effort, a fund which aims to integrate those families into society will be set up to collect the financial funding needed to assist migrant wives and workers, as well as others from different ethnic backgrounds who are trying to adjust to Korean culture.

"I`m just hoping that Korean people, who are used to living in a one-blooded country, can acknowledge foreign members and embrace them into society," said Lee Yoo-ri, 45, a Vietnamese native who has been living here for over a decade. "Even though I have lived here for so long, I can`t get rid of the anxious feeling when I get treated differently for coming from a different country."

(sharon@heraldm.com)



By Cho Ji-hyun