City Research Online

Abstract

This study explores and critically reviews whether everyday perceptions and practices regarding Itaewon, a representative multicultural district in Seoul, South Korea, reflect aspects of multiculturalism as a normative mode of perceiving ‘others’ and ‘otherness’ constructed in the Korean context. The research employs a two-way examination, analysing media discourse from 1990 to 2021 and ethnographic interview data on Itaewon’s everyday aspects.

The findings indicate that in the 1990s and 2000s, a pro-multicultural shift emerged, driven by instrumental pursuits of multiculturalism for economic, social, and political advancement. Reflecting this shift, Itaewon transformed from a ‘foreigner ghetto’ into a normalised space for experiencing cultural diversity and developing intercultural skills in a globalising era. However, by the 2010s, despite Itaewon’s continued symbolic status as a multicultural district and a more integrationist approach to multiculturalism, its consumption became increasingly clichéd, with ethnic and cultural diversity perceived as less significant among its primary clientele.

This study argues that this contradiction stems from a distinctive cognitive framework in Korean society – specifically, the absence of ‘ethnicity thinking,’ where cultural issues are not necessarily linked to ethnicity. This may, in turn, reflect a fundamental and irreconcilable divergence between Western and East Asian contexts, particularly Korea, in how multiculturalism has been conceptualised. Building on this, the study calls for a re-conceptualisation of ‘Korean multiculturalism’ through the concept of Damunhwa Ideology, arguing that Damunhwa-jui (multiculturalism) has, from its inception, obscured the fact that it is neither inherently pro-multicultural nor truly aligned with the fundamental meaning of ‘multiculturalism’ – beyond the neoliberal intentions, structural inequalities, and other issues critiqued in existing literature.

This study is expected to contribute, especially, to the scholarship of multiculturalism by presenting an alternative, critical approach to the understanding of multiculturalism in Korea and potentially East Asia where national homogeneity is not only empirically evident but also ideologically upheld. Additionally, the study’s hybrid approach to Itaewon that attends both the structural and empirical dynamics around its cultural character it is expected to provide urban cultural studies with insights into a way to unpack new inquiries.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity > Media, Culture & Creative Industries School of Communication & Creativity > School of Communication & Creativity Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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