Demography, Migration and Multiculturalism in South Korea Andrew
Eungi Kim More than a million foreigners reportedly reside in
South Korea now, with unskilled migrant workers accounting for a
majority. Although the country’s reliance on imported foreign
labor is likely to continue unabated, the country prides itself
as an ethnically homogenous society and insists on almost zero-
immigration policy. However, this paper shows that Korean
society is rapidly becoming a multicultural society and this
process is inevitable and irreversible. In support of this
argument, the paper examines various social factors that are
contributing to the making of a multiethnic Korea, including the
continuing influx of migrant workers, rapid aging of the
population, low fertility rate, and shortage of brides. The
paper also assesses the applicability of various theories and
trends of migration to the Korean context. The Korean case
suggests a need for a paradigm shift in understanding
multiculturalism. This is because the dominant