Integration and multiculturalism

Integration and multiculturalism

• Identify 5 places where multiculturalism is said to be accepted but people are expected to integrate into society.

1. South Korea - It hasn't been long since Korea has accepted multiculturalism. They wanted to preserve their culture and traditions and it was common for those who did not have similar features to be discriminated. However, the concept of multiculturalism has changes and they accepted foreigners as well as other cultural characteristics to blend in their own culture. There are many immigrants and there are also many foreigners who come out in various television broadcasts and  

2. Philippines - In Philippines, multiculturalism is not common, but due to all the invasion that has happened in the past and the historical events made a mixture of various cultures. Philippines have a mixture of many ethinic groups and the government of the country is trying to preserve the way it is to keep their culture and tradition. 

3. Singapore - In Singapore, english is the main language, but it is a multilingual country as well. They speak Mandarin, Tamil, Malay, and these three are the main ethnic communities. When the British conquered the country, there were areas which contained a large population of foreign people like chinatown, geylang, and little india. Although multiculturalism is allowed and present, many are integrated into society already. 

4. UAE - Even though Arabic is the official language of the country, other languages such as english, hindi, malayalam, bengali, and tagalog are widely spoken and understood by the majority of the people. Foreigners make up 85% of the country and most of the workers are foreign as well. However, since the immigration policy is not open for them, the foreigners need to stay as temporary workers. 

5. Mexico - Mexico, especially Mexico City, is a place where it is integrating very quickly. It has always and will always be a multicultural country with all the historical backgrounds of how different ethinic groups got together and blended. The Europeans, Africans and small Asian groups were mixed and conducted a multicultural country. 

• Explain the difference between assimilation and integration and use it in context of a place / culture

Assimilation is when an individual or group's culture is lost and adopt other cultures as part of your own. This happens especially to ethnic minority groups as they lose their cultural characteristics and take on the dominant group culture's characteristics.  Language can assimilated by people. This term is usually used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. Full assimilation occurs when those who adopt new culture become indistinguishable from those who are currently in the society. 

While assimilation is when new members adjust themselves into a new culture, Integration refers to the interaction of a lot of people from different cultures all around the world. They have different skills and professions, from various religions, and from different ethnic groups. It is also seen as the behaviour that is in harmony with the environment of an individual. As many cultures blend and become a "global culture", many argue that this leads to a reduction of the cultural differences and remove the existence of local cultures.