The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST), in collaboration with the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute (President KIM Sae Won), and Statistics Korea (Commissioner LEE Hyung Il), has released findings from its 2024 Cultural Diversity Survey[1]. This undertaking aims to assess the public’s awareness of cultural diversity, and evaluate its cultural and creative engagement. It was officially recognized as national statistics in July 2024 (Approval No. 113028), with fresh surveys to be conducted biennially moving forward.

Cultural Diversity in Society: Current 50.8 Rating Expected to Rise to 65.9 over Five Years

Exposure to Cultural Diversity Education is Less Prevalent Among Older Age Groupings

The survey findings show that 27.3% of Koreans report high awareness of cultural diversity, while rating the cultural diversity level of society, generally, at 50.8 points (out of 100), and projecting a rise to 65.9 points over the next five years. The respondents anticipate that such rises will help reduce social conflict (26.9%), enhance cultural and artistic competitiveness (21.8%), and improve quality of life for community members (20.3%).

Also, 21.7% of survey respondents recorded some engagement with education on cultural diversity, with 68.0% of those being 15–19-year-olds. Exposure declined in accordance with respondent age, and the most commonly-covered educational topics were human rights (56.8%), disability awareness (55.5%), cultural diversity (43.8%), and multicultural acceptance (24.2%). When asked their opinion on the most important policy measures for promoting cultural diversity, 30.1% of respondents highlighted education and raising awareness, 22.8% cited legal and institutional reforms and 20.8% specified the expansion of cultural diversity programs and events.

Furthermore, 16.8% of respondents said they had prior interactions with people of different nationalities, with foreign workers (44.8%), marriage migrants (25.5%), international students (24.9%), and ethnic Koreans from China (15.1%) most commonly mentioned. Regarding attitudes toward difference, a large proportion of survey participants stated they felt no discomfort at multigenerational gatherings (76.2%), while different races (69.2%), people from specific regions (59.3%), gender role disparities (48.0%), and people with disabilities (46.7%) were likewise not a source of unease.

Limited Exposure to International Fine Arts and Pop Culture

Half of Koreans Report Encounters with Cultural Bias or Stereotypes in Media

The survey also examined the diversity of cultural and artistic content that people experience directly and found that exposure to international fine arts and pop culture[2] in Korea was lower compared to domestic content. By genre[3], local content had been more commonly encountered via music and pop culture, whereas for literature, visual arts, film, comics, animation, and webtoons, exposure levels for domestic and international content were similar.

Additionally, 54.0% of respondents said they had experienced cultural bias or stereotyping in the media, particularly regarding intergenerational values and lifestyles (56.6%), varying faiths and religions (45.5%), racial differences (44.2%), and regional stereotypes (43.6%). The primary factors limiting greater diversity in media content were adjudged to be: an over-focus on mainstream culture during production (22.2%), market dominance by large media corporations (18.0%), stereotypes and bias in content (13.0%), and algorithm-driven, skewed content consumption (11.2%).

The detailed survey results will be published on the official MCST website and the Korean Statistical Information Service (www.kosis.kr).