Ex-teacher wins multicultural educator award

Moon Soo-kyoung

By Kim Se-jeong

Moon soo-kyoung, 46, was named this year’s best educator of multiculturalism by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The award was given on Nov. 20 during a seminar in Seoul attended by over 100 educators trained by the ministry.

When asked to share her teaching experience, Moon said talking about cultural diversity to old folks takes patience.

“This concept is understood well by children. They have either interacted with foreigners or have friends with different cultural backgrounds,” she said. “However, those from the older generation already have their mind set on who they are, which is mostly negative, and it’s hard to change their perspective. She said she talks about realities, for example about how much new immigrants and their children can contribute to the aging Korean society.

Her work is what the Korean society desperately needs.

Interracial households face stigma and discrimination as they try to integrate into the society. The ministry began training multicultural educators from 2012 to help meet the needs of these households and raise awareness of multicultural society in the public.

She became a certified multicultural educator last year. Her previous experience as a counselor for teenagers and as a teacher helps her significantly, she said. She completed 60 hours of courses on psychology, education, law, human rights and teaching methods during the training.

She now travels around Gyeonggi Province to talk to people of all ages ― from preschool children to elderly residents ― about the importance of cultural diversity, tolerance and respect for others. She visits schools too as some schools take cultural diversity as part of their curriculum.

A mother to two sons ― one in high school and the other in middle school, Moon said she is happy with her career path, which allows her to manage her work around her family schedule. “I feel thankful that my kids are grown, and I am given this time. If they were young, there is no way I can work like this.”

Her first-hand multicultural experience is rather limited. She grew up in a traditional Korean family, finished school, got a job and married to a regular Korean guy.

“What got me interested in this field were lectures on peace that I once attended in my neighborhood years ago. The details were different, but the bottom line was to be tolerant of others and respect them. Something clicked me, and when I heard about the training program for multicultural educators, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

The program was launched by the ministry, which is in charge of interracial family policies. What triggered the initiative was a survey result released in 2012 that showed that the Korean society’s acceptance of different cultures was much lower than that of European countries.

Launched two years ago, the program has so far certified 237 educators. The educators develop their own curriculum and find locations in which they could teach. They meet once a year to share their experiences and learn from each other. Educators who perform well, like Moon, are given recognition.

“The core message here is being different is not a bad thing,” she said.