Politics of Language in “Korean style Multiculturalism”: Utilization of Filipino Language in Korean Language Textbooks for Marriage Migrants

Abstract

Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is used in other countries not just to promote the language and Philippine culture. This paper examines how the language is utilized in order to facilitate the mastery of the Korean language as well as the assimilation of marriage migrants into Korean society. The Republic of Korea has recently been shifting towards a multicultural society. This shift has given way to a government-sponsored multicultural policy, which seems flawed and has given birth to another social problem. According to Korean scholars Kim (2011), Watson (2010), and Lee (2015), the concept of multiculturalism is quite problematic because it promotes assimilation rather than the recognition of different cultures. This paper also aims to examine the dynamics of the politics of language in “multicultural” Korea by analyzing texts written in Filipino/Tagalog distributed by different Korean government agencies. These texts will be described, interpreted, and explained using Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis.