Individual and Contextual Determinants of Ethnic Exclusionism Attitudes toward Immigrants in South Korea

Abstract

The rapid increase of immigration in South Korea and divided public opinions towards immigration among Korean natives make it imperative to investigate the sources of natives’ ethnic exclusionism attitudes toward immigrants. Using data from the 2010 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) and the 2010 Population and Housing Census in a multilevel modeling framework, we investigate the individual and contextual factors associated with ethnic exclusionism attitudes among Korean natives. Consistent with previous studies, we find that a number of individual factors, including education level and political ideology, are associated with ethnic exclusionism attitudes. Supporting the contact theory of racial and ethnic relations, we find that the percentage of multicultural households in respondents’ neighborhood—measured as the ward of residence—is positively associated with more favorable attitudes toward multicultural society. These findings suggest that researchers should consider both individual and contextual factors to gain a comprehensive understanding of ethnic exclusionism attitudes in Korea.