Review of professional workers’ multicultural competence: implications in Korea

Abstract

The importance of professional workers’ multicultural competence (MC) is increasingly noted in Korea, which is shifting into a multicultural society. This study investigates the current location of the discussion regarding the MC of professional workers in Korea using reviews of existing studies in international and Korean contexts. This paper identifies the similarities and differences between the studies conducted in the two contexts in terms of (a) components of MC, (b) assessment instruments, and (c) training programs for professional workers. Results indicate that discussions on MC in Korea have flourished in social work and teaching professions as additional capabilities in order to resolve immediate needs for these new clients while discussions in the international context have featured MC as one of the core competencies of workers dealing with multicultural clients. Several suggestions for Korean researchers and policymakers are made regarding the direction and process on the MC of Korean professional workers.

Keywords:

• professional workers
• multicultural competence
• multiculturalization
• multicultural clients
• Korea
• systematic review