Between the ideas and realities of multicultural Korea
| dc.contributor.advisor | Smith, L. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Berndt, Rory | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-07-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Seemingly overnight, multiculturalism became an official policy of the South Korean government. This thesis argues that South Korea’s apparent strong embrace of multiculturalism can be traced back to the country’s social-economic and demographic changes. By examining the effects of international labour and marriage migration on the discursive position towards multiculturalism of the South Korean state, it shows the gap between the government’s rhetoric and practice on its immigration policy. As such, this thesis delves into the question of why South Korea’s immigration policy seems so contradictory. To answer this question, it looks at the role of legitimacy for a state. In order for states to survive, they continue searching for ways to maximize their legitimacy. How governments construct their immigration policy is part of this quest. States design their policies by considering which claims are most effective in gaining legitimacy. During this process, the discourse between the rhetoric and practice of their policies oftentimes becomes disconnected from each other. This thesis shows how the South Korean immigration incorporation policies seem to follow a reverse trend of the ‘gap hypothesis’: whereas the immigration discourse is benevolent with a strong emphasis on multiculturalism, the actual implementation is rather restrictive. South Korea, a country highly globalised in terms of its economy, but in a less cultural way, is an example of a state that selected specific components of globalisation to serve its own national interests. In this context, the country is creating a new synthesis in which it simultaneously secures its own national identity whilst adapting to an age of increasing globalisation. Key words: South Korea, multicultural society, international migration, multiculturalism, governmental policy, labour migrants, marriage migrants, globalisation | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://theses.ubn.ru.nl/handle/123456789/5421 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.thesis.faculty | Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen | en_US |
| dc.thesis.specialisation | Globalization, Migration and Development | en_US |
| dc.thesis.studyprogramme | Master Human Geography | en_US |
| dc.thesis.type | Master | en_US |
| dc.title | Between the ideas and realities of multicultural Korea | en_US |
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