정책 이슈

In Korean society, where population decline and local extinction are progressing simultaneously, multicultural families serve as a realistic buffer that extends the vitality of local communities a little longer, while also being a testbed for social integration.

As of November 2025, the number of foreign residents in Korea exceeded 2.66 million, accounting for 5.1% of the total population, and the population with an immigrant background was tallied at 2.81 million (5.4%). A structure has already been established where their increase offsets the decrease in the native Korean population. The growth rate is particularly prominent in non-metropolitan areas. The influx of foreign residents is rapidly increasing in rural farming and fishing villages and industrial complexes in regions such as Gyeongbuk (8.0%), Gangwon (7.9%), and Jeonnam (7.8%), while the proportion residing in the Seoul metropolitan area has slightly decreased. With over 60% of local governments nationwide designated as population decline areas and areas at risk of extinction by the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the contribution of multicultural families and foreign workers in filling labor shortages in agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing subcontracting, caregiving, shipbuilding, and construction sites is undeniable.

Multicultural households also consistently increased, exceeding 450,000 as of 2025, and the trend of multicultural births accounting for over 5% of total births helps fill empty houses and classrooms in rural areas a little longer. This is also why the surprise of 'there are more multicultural families than expected' becomes commonplace as one moves from the Seoul metropolitan area to the provinces. While international marriage was once considered an exceptional phenomenon that filled the marriage gap for bachelors in rural areas, it has now become a natural sight in schools, markets, and around factories in eup and myeon units. As the second-generation phenomenon, where children grow up to fill local schools and jobs, becomes visible, multicultural families function not just as a simple labor supplement but as a factor supporting the demographic structure of local communities.

The perspective of Koreans has also clearly changed from the past. In the 2024 National Multicultural Acceptance Survey, the adult score was 53.38 points, an increase from 52.27 points in 2021, marking a rebound after nine years. There is a clear tendency for acceptance to be higher among younger age groups and those with more frequent contact with immigrants, and the number of respondents who frequently encounter foreigners in their daily lives has also increased. A significant number of adult respondents evaluated the increase in immigrants as helpful in resolving labor shortages, and a trend was observed where practical acceptance of multicultural society strengthened as labor shortages became more severe.

Especially in rural areas, where contact frequency is higher than in the metropolitan area, improvements in perception are more tangibly evident. Multicultural family support programs are becoming commonplace at the Nonghyup (agricultural cooperative) or village level, and as children naturally settle into local schools, the perception that they are 'not foreigners, but people from our neighborhood' is gradually spreading. This shows that the past view of multicultural families as temporary and exceptional presences is gradually changing.

Nevertheless, prejudice still exists. Stereotypes associating multicultural families with lower-middle class and high school graduate levels remain, and in the 2024 National Survey on Multicultural Families, approximately 13% of marriage immigrants and naturalized citizens reported experiencing discrimination in the past year. The rate of children experiencing discrimination has also increased in some surveys compared to before, and the majority of responses regarding language, skin color, and origin-related perceptions experienced at work, in the neighborhood, or at school were to 'just endure it.' At the same time, social tension has increased recently due to growing complaints that 'multicultural preference' in areas such as priority use of postpartum care centers and kindergarten admission rankings is perceived as reverse discrimination against native Koreans. While it is true that perceptions have improved, a duality is emerging where specific injustices or cultural frictions become more prominent as contact increases. Despite a significant increase in higher education enrollment rates for children from multicultural families and an improvement in household income levels, the fact that experiences of discrimination have not completely disappeared suggests that improved perceptions and institutional support are not yet sufficiently aligned.

The Lee Jae-myung administration is confronting this reality and moving to readjust its multicultural policies, focusing on fairness and practicality. In late October, the President raised concerns about preferential treatment for multicultural families in local government policies (such as priority reservations for postpartum care centers) in Seoul and other areas. He stated that he would consult with local governments and consider revising enforcement decrees to determine “whether there is a great need to go beyond preventing harm and provide preferential treatment, and whether the preferential treatment system needs to be abolished.” He then drew a line, saying, “It is a necessary policy that multicultural families should not be discriminated against compared to native Korean families, and it should naturally continue,” but also, “Correcting the excess of some policies should not be mistaken as a measure that causes general discrimination or hatred towards multicultural families.”

The Blue House officially announced that it is reviewing the revision of the Mother and Child Health Act enforcement decree, explaining that it will re-examine the criteria to ensure that benefits are preferentially given to mothers who are in greater need. This is an extension of the stance that prioritizes 'citizens first' and 'fairness' while maintaining anti-discrimination measures. The President's statements on the matter over four days are interpreted as an intention not to reduce multicultural support policies themselves, but to filter out excessive and unfair elements to enhance the sustainability of the policies.

The impact of these policy changes is two-sided. Positively, reducing excessive priority or uniform preferential treatment can alleviate social friction by mitigating the relative sense of deprivation among native-born citizens. As multicultural families play a practical role in slowing down population decline in local areas, it is more efficient to shift the focus from unconditional privileges to tailored support necessary for settlement, such as language and vocational training, child education support, and local employment connections. On the other hand, if the policy message is misinterpreted, there is a risk that it could be misunderstood as a move to reduce support for multicultural families or to incite hatred. In fact, members of multicultural families and related organizations voice that they "do not feel any special privileges beyond general welfare support" and express concerns that the controversy could be exploited as a justification for everyday discrimination. Especially in local areas, where multicultural families have already established themselves as members of the community, careful coordination is needed to ensure that policy changes do not weaken practical support for their settlement.

Ultimately, for the Lee Jae-myung administration's multicultural policy to improve in a way that possesses efficiency and practicality, the principle of 'maintaining necessary support while correcting unfairness' must be consistently applied to on-site implementation, rather than emotional inclusion or mechanical preferential treatment. While acknowledging the reality that multicultural families contribute to slowing down the era of local population decline, a balanced approach is needed to reduce prejudice and enhance overall social fairness.

Multicultural families have already become a part of Korean society. When policies do not ignore this reality but move towards integration based on efficiency and fairness, the possibility of social integration can be opened up a little more amidst the crises of population decline and local extinction. When improved awareness and practical institutions work together, multicultural families can establish themselves as members who support the sustainability of Korean society, beyond being mere sources of labor.