Multicultural children show new direction for society

By Cha Yun-kyung

It was a record of a miserable struggle to flee an isolated island of poverty. It was a record of cold loneliness that neither the love of a warm family nor hard-earned financial stability could melt. It was a record of a broken heart hurt by prejudice, discrimination and ignorance.

At the same time, however, it was a shout of stern determination promising to protect the flickers of hope for a better tomorrow. They were everywhere on this land. From the affluent city to a sterile environment in the countryside, they were striving to put down roots in the ground and bloom.

As I was reading the application forms submitted for the 7th Korea Multicultural Youth Awards hosted by The Korea Times, I felt pity and shame, but I was touched.

They were facing all kinds of difficulties and receiving uncomfortable attention due to their migrant family background, but each of them was blooming into a beautiful flower. Some were growing as leaders, serving friends and setting examples in class while others were showing promising talents in the arts and athletics. Some were growing as volunteers who share what they have, while others were growing into global talents with excellent foreign language skills and outstanding scholastic achievements.

I wanted to recommend them all as winners of the award. I wanted to give them a tight hug and lots of encouragement. I wanted to thank all of them for trying hard and living confidently. I wanted to tell them that in this society, which often disappoints them instead of encouraging them, there are people who want to cheer for them and share with them.

The awardees here today represent some 120,000 multicultural students in primary and secondary schools across the country. They are also the representatives of millions of children who will lead our society in the future.

No compliment or award will compensate enough for the tears and sweat, or the hard times they have endured to become the people they are now. But what they have achieved does not end as individual glory; it is a signpost that suggests new directions for the people and the society they represent.

Please do not stop. Step forward boldly. And you must succeed. Prove that this is an open and fair society where people can make their dreams come true if they strive for it.

There is a proverb that one swallow does not make a summer, but today watching the awardees, I see a bright and affluent multicultural Korea coming in the near future.

Cha Yun-kyung is a professor at Hanyang University's department of multicultural education and former head of the Korean Association for Multicultural Education.