KJCKorea
Journal Central

As we have become a Multicultural society since we have more than 1.1 million foreigners residing in Korea, there have been a lot of discussion regarding foreigners’ human rights and multicultural education. ‘Learning to live together’ in the ‘Education for International Understanding’ of UNESCO has been a great help to develop an international vision for the multicultural education in Korea. ‘Understanding foreign cultures’ which is a theme of education for international understanding aims the harmony of one society and the peaceful education for the world civilians. In order to strengthen education for international understanding since 2000, UNESCO has performed it through disseminating ‘a Culture of Peace’ with five themes, ‘Globalization issue’, ‘Peaceful World’, ‘Respect human rights’, ‘Multicultural understanding’ and ‘Sustainable development’. Especially, multicultural understanding contains mutual respect and prejudiced discrimination. This is because when all the representatives of the countries made a decision for the certain policy, third world influenced them to reflect human rights for the minorities, peace, respect and so on. Multicultural understanding is one of important areas of education for the world peace, at which UNESCO has taken aim. UNESCO started using the term of international education based on its educational concern and it has expressed peace education, human right education, world civilian education, education for international understanding and education for sustainable development and so on. And at 2001, it published the rule book for the multicultural education with the <Declaration of UNESCO world culture diversity>. UNESCO has used a term ‘multicultural education’ meaning intercultural education as well. We have ignored and not made serious efforts to materialize ‘World inside Korea’ so far compared to make efforts to materialize ‘Korea inside World’. Diversity of the cultures, languages and religions in Asia and World is the important property and potential motive for the creative future. It is also an important social capital to actively solve the global issues and to contribute partnership, cooperation and harmony to asian region as well as world stage. Korean people will develop a balanced awareness of world civilians and be inspired with their pride as world civilians through Korean education for multicultural understanding as well as one for the asian understanding. Foreigners are also equivalent members of our society. It will induce Korean to transform a sense of value for the multicultural society. Once they got out of the nationalismic view of thinking in a narrow sense, they will admit them as members of our society. That will be a foundation for bringing up persons with new global creativity. In order to raise up a national brand status, education for multicultural understanding and educating world civilians dealing with world-wide issues are necessary. Social ethics is one to pursue change in our society. Ethics of the christian society not only explain the world, but also transform the society. Christian educated people are responsible for the pursuit of our common virtue of world civilians such as peace and justice, love and living together and for exerting and practicing them. “World is a Multicultural Society.” If we will promote a Global Multicultural Education, multicultural education model in Korea will be set up in the right direction.

UNESCO, multicultural education, ethics of the christian society, Learning to live together, education for international understanding