'Multiculturalism is must for prosperity'
By Jung Min-ho
Embracing growing diversity in Seoul is no longer a political question, but a matter of life or death in the 21st century, according to Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
"If history is any guide, multiculturalism is a precondition for a nation's survival and its prosperity," he said in an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday. "Seoul will continue to lead the trend by promoting that value and giving foreigners more opportunities."
Last week, the municipal authorities announced a plan to hire up to 100 foreigners by 2020, from the current five.
"Talented people with various backgrounds can contribute to making Seoul a global city, which cannot be achieved only with Koreans," he said. "Given that Seoul has over 40 sister cities across the world, they can be utilized in many ways."
The number of foreigners in Seoul more than doubled to 415,059 this year from 207,417 in 2007. They account for 4 percent of the city's population.
Not just the numbers; Seoul has tried harder to reach out to them and listen to their voices to improve their living conditions. Last year alone, the city government settled 74,000 complaints from foreigners.
Citing Australian football star Peter Bell, who was born to a Korean mother and an American father on Jeju Island, Park said that for Korea and Seoul to prosper, it is important to change the fixed idea of what "Koreans" should look like.
"How diverse the city is nowadays indicates how competitive it is," Park said. "As more foreigners come to Seoul and settle here, the number of multicultural families is on the rise too. And they are valuable assets."
According to data compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, about 100,000 multicultural families reside in Seoul. There are 790,000 of them nationally.
Park believes territorial expansion no longer means taking more land. "If more people know about Korea, it could be considered as an expansion of Korea," he said.
From running Korean language classes for immigrants to hosting job fairs for them, the municipal government has tried to adjust to the globalization of the city.
Park also believes diversity is the engine of what has built Silicon Valley, which is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations.
At an international conference years ago, Park realized the power of diversity when he met three businessmen, who came from different backgrounds (France, India and Korea) and successfully settled in Silicon Valley.
"At the conference, there was a lecture about how Silicon Valley succeeded. Through them, I could see how it did," Park said.
Since he became mayor, Park has worked hard to globalize Seoul and encourage more diversity among its citizens.
Thanks to these efforts, Seoul has moved up in the Global Power City Index, released annually by the Urban Strategy Institute of the Mori Memorial Foundation, which ranked Korea's capital sixth after London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore.
Since the foundation started reporting the rankings in 2008, Seoul's global competitiveness has risen continuously, from 13th in 2008.
"Seoul is a very attractive city. It is very safe. It also has many good foreigners' schools, first-rate technology and an excellent public transportation system," he said.
Yet Park believes Seoul can go forward even more by setting up more environmentally friendly policies and improving traffic problems.
After seeing more than 12 million foreign tourists this year, Seoul has an ambitious goal of attracting 20 million annual visitors by 2018.
‘No personal relationship with Park Hyun-jung'
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Park Hyun-jung has been under scrutiny after some of her employees claimed that she abused them and insulted the orchestra's guests during overseas tours.
Since her appointment by Mayor Park in February of last year, 13 of the orchestra's 27 administrative staff have quit their jobs at the nation's top orchestra.
According to a press release from the orchestra's administrative office, CEO Park remarked that her subordinates should "sell their organs to make up for corporate losses" or that one employee in particular "would serve well as a bar hostess." It added that she even changed the orchestra's regulations to enable the CEO to play favorites when hiring or promoting.
When asked if he had any personal relationship with her, Mayor Park said he had neither known nor met her.
"I just thought she would do a good job, based on her credentials," he said. "It (the way she ran the orchestra) was different from what I expected."
He said how to manage manpower is important to be successful as Seoul mayor.
But he added having a good system for selecting the right people for certain positions does not always guarantee success.
By Jung Min-ho
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| Park Won-soon |
"If history is any guide, multiculturalism is a precondition for a nation's survival and its prosperity," he said in an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday. "Seoul will continue to lead the trend by promoting that value and giving foreigners more opportunities."
Last week, the municipal authorities announced a plan to hire up to 100 foreigners by 2020, from the current five.
"Talented people with various backgrounds can contribute to making Seoul a global city, which cannot be achieved only with Koreans," he said. "Given that Seoul has over 40 sister cities across the world, they can be utilized in many ways."
The number of foreigners in Seoul more than doubled to 415,059 this year from 207,417 in 2007. They account for 4 percent of the city's population.
Not just the numbers; Seoul has tried harder to reach out to them and listen to their voices to improve their living conditions. Last year alone, the city government settled 74,000 complaints from foreigners.
Citing Australian football star Peter Bell, who was born to a Korean mother and an American father on Jeju Island, Park said that for Korea and Seoul to prosper, it is important to change the fixed idea of what "Koreans" should look like.
"How diverse the city is nowadays indicates how competitive it is," Park said. "As more foreigners come to Seoul and settle here, the number of multicultural families is on the rise too. And they are valuable assets."
According to data compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, about 100,000 multicultural families reside in Seoul. There are 790,000 of them nationally.
Park believes territorial expansion no longer means taking more land. "If more people know about Korea, it could be considered as an expansion of Korea," he said.
From running Korean language classes for immigrants to hosting job fairs for them, the municipal government has tried to adjust to the globalization of the city.
Park also believes diversity is the engine of what has built Silicon Valley, which is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations.
At an international conference years ago, Park realized the power of diversity when he met three businessmen, who came from different backgrounds (France, India and Korea) and successfully settled in Silicon Valley.
"At the conference, there was a lecture about how Silicon Valley succeeded. Through them, I could see how it did," Park said.
Since he became mayor, Park has worked hard to globalize Seoul and encourage more diversity among its citizens.
Thanks to these efforts, Seoul has moved up in the Global Power City Index, released annually by the Urban Strategy Institute of the Mori Memorial Foundation, which ranked Korea's capital sixth after London, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore.
Since the foundation started reporting the rankings in 2008, Seoul's global competitiveness has risen continuously, from 13th in 2008.
"Seoul is a very attractive city. It is very safe. It also has many good foreigners' schools, first-rate technology and an excellent public transportation system," he said.
Yet Park believes Seoul can go forward even more by setting up more environmentally friendly policies and improving traffic problems.
After seeing more than 12 million foreign tourists this year, Seoul has an ambitious goal of attracting 20 million annual visitors by 2018.
‘No personal relationship with Park Hyun-jung'
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Park Hyun-jung has been under scrutiny after some of her employees claimed that she abused them and insulted the orchestra's guests during overseas tours.
Since her appointment by Mayor Park in February of last year, 13 of the orchestra's 27 administrative staff have quit their jobs at the nation's top orchestra.
According to a press release from the orchestra's administrative office, CEO Park remarked that her subordinates should "sell their organs to make up for corporate losses" or that one employee in particular "would serve well as a bar hostess." It added that she even changed the orchestra's regulations to enable the CEO to play favorites when hiring or promoting.
When asked if he had any personal relationship with her, Mayor Park said he had neither known nor met her.
"I just thought she would do a good job, based on her credentials," he said. "It (the way she ran the orchestra) was different from what I expected."
He said how to manage manpower is important to be successful as Seoul mayor.
But he added having a good system for selecting the right people for certain positions does not always guarantee success.
