The Politics of Inclusion/Exclusion: Critical Discourse Analysis on Multicultural Education Policy Documents in South Korea

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the politics of inclusion and exclusion embedded in South Korea’s multicultural education documents. The study examines eight multicultural education policy documents published annually from 2006 to 2013; it focuses on what strategies the government chooses to acculturate multicultural families and students. As a methodology for analyzing text, this study applies critical discourse analysis (CDA). It is capable of highlighting the (un)avoidable result of the process of abjection between Korea’s majority and the minority-a bifurcation depicted in Korean society and evidenced in governmental policy documents. Thus, this paper explores how multicultural education policy documents articulate the politics of inclusion/exclusion. An integration strategy is indeed signaled in the basic idea of multicultural education. Throughout the governmental policy documents, however, practical plans and programs are deeply engaged with the assimilation and/or the segregation strategy. Based on an apparent conflict between generalities and particulars, this study proposes a hopeful vision for a South Korean multicultural education policy.