Changing attitudes towards immigration and democracy in South Korea

If democracy belongs to 'the people', an important test of any democratic society is its treatment of non-citizens, new citizens and others who do not enjoy full civic rights. At times of economic and social upheaval, even societies where democracy is well established may witness anti-immigrant sentiment. This paper analyses how newcomers in South Korea are perceived as workers, neighbours and citizens. These modes of integration imply different degrees of commitment on the part of the host society to the acceptance of new citizens or residents, and thus to democracy. The paper finds that there is some overlap between public opinion and official immigration policy, in that both exhibit a ‘hierarchy of citizenship’, but public opinion is not monolithic. South Koreans prefer some immigrants over others, but seem open to the notion that the boundaries of the political community can and do change over time.