Multicultural at the Meso-Level: Governing Diversity within the Family in South Korea
Darcie Draudt-Véjares
Princeton University, Princeton, USA
Pacific Affairs is delighted to announce the 22nd William L. Holland Prize for the best article published in Volume 96 (2023) is awarded to Darcie Draudt-Véjares for her article published in Vol. 96, No. 4
Departing from existing studies that largely focus on gender roles, norm diffusion, or ethnonationalism, this compelling paper highlights policy siting as an understudied factor in determining why and when states manage cultural diversity. Using the case of South Korea’s family-centred multicultural policy, the paper contributes to the growing body of literature on comparative policymaking, multiculturalism, and multi-level citizenship by foregrounding the processes by which governing elites target specific meso-level social institutions as privileged sites of diversity governance. Drawing on immersive field research conducted between 2017 and 2023, the paper offers a rich discussion of the contemporary political ramifications of Korea’s multiculturalism and prospects for future broadening and deepening. With a strong, policy-focused analysis highly relevant to contemporary discussions on multiculturalism and integration, and through an original engagement with the comparative literature on multi-culturalism, this important contribution manifests a deep knowledge of Korean society and combines theoretical rigour with empirical breadth.
Darcie Draudt-Véjares is a Fellow for Korean Studies in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. A political scientist and policy analyst, she publishes regular commentary on South and North Korean domestic politics and foreign policy, Northeast Asian relations, and US-Korea policy. Email: darcie.draudt@ceip.org