Soft talk,hard realities: Multiculturalism as the South Korean government’s decoupled response to international migration

Abstract

Cornelius et al., (2004) assert that the gap between immigration policy objectives and outcomes is growing. Their case studies around the globe indicate that states tend to use “tough” rhetoric in immigration control but mostly end up with “soft,” liberal policy practice. South Korea shows a similar gap, but in the opposite direction. In this paper, I explore this gap between “soft rhetoric” and “tough action” of the Korean government’s immigration policies using the concept of “decoupling,” a phenomenon in which organizations respond to conflicting pressures through contradictory actions and statements. Analyses of archival and interview data show that the Korean government extensively uses “soft talk” such as multiculturalism and diversity when discussing immigration issues but in practice implements exclusionary and assimilative “hard policies.”