DAMUNHWA (MULTICULTURALISM) AND SEGYEHWA (GLOBALIZATION) IN SOUTH KOREA: AN UNEQUAL EXCHANGE

Abstract

This paper attempts to criticize and problematize   two terms Damunhwa (multiculturalism) and Segyehwa (globalization), and what they connote. Under the globalized circumstance, it is hard not to recognize what has been globalized. The two terms Damunhwa and Segyehwa exist in the daily life of South Koreans, it may even be closer to those who live in its circumstance, without knowing it. However, it is worthwhile to question if the term Damunhwa can fit in the reality of South Korea as it literally means, or if it has other connotations. This article tries to prove that the term Damunhwa used in public discourses shows that it exists only as a policy of which its otherness has only been highlighted. In such a sense, what and/or who has been defined as Damunhwa is a mere receiver of the imposed identity by the majority in the society without much possibility for discourses of their own ‘becoming’ process. This article investigates both the terms using quantitative methods, specifically using Naver news search to see which vocabulary is often accompanied to understand the meaning of Damunhwa and Segyehwa in public discourse. With this as a basis, it will analyze what they represent, and in comparison, what they actually are composed of. By doing so, the article presents the ambiguousness of the two terms, and will therefore show the intentions lying behind them.