한국인들은 오랫동안 스스로를 단일민족이라고 여기는 경향이 있었다. 그러나 최근 10년 사이 세계 자본시장과 노동시장의 변화로 민족국가 간 장벽이 점점 낮아지기 시작하면서 외국인 노동자가 급격히 증가함으로 인해, 한국사회의 성격도 빠른 속도로 다문화적으로 바뀌고 있다. 한국내 외국인노동자들에 대한 사회적 시각은 아직도 이들을 과잉 노동력 혹은 사회 불안요소로 바라보는 경우가 많다. 본 논문은 한국에서 외국인노동자와 관련하여 발생하는 정치사회적 문제들의 근본 원인을 타자를 대하는 한국인의 의식 및 가치체계와 연관이 되어 있을 것으로 생각하고, 한국의 민족주의를 통해 문제의 해결의 실마리를 찾고자 하였다. 먼저 외국인노동자들에 대한 사회적 차별은 한국민족주의의 한편에 자리한 배타적 성격과 인종주의와 결부되어 있다는 것을 지적한다. 그리고 이러한 배타성을 극복하기 위한 방향으로서 한국 민족주의에서 타민족 및 외국인을 수용할 수 있는 근거를 찾아 포용적 한국민족주의의 해석을 시도하고자 하였다. 즉 한국민족주의가 지니는 인종적 배타성에도 불구하고 타민족 및 외국인을 수용할 수 있는 가능성을 찾고자 하였다. 이러한 방향의 한국민족주의가 자유주의와 민족주의를 결합한 자유주의적 민족주의(liberal nationalism)의 발상과 연결될 수 있으며, 한국에서 외국인노동자 문제를 해결해 주는 실마리를 제공할 수 있다고 생각하였다. 자유주의적 민족주의는 개인의 자유와 기본권을 중시하는 한도 내에서 민족주의를 수용하는 것이다. 외국인 노동자들의 수용에서 그들의 한국사회에 대한 입장을 각각 분류하여 자유주의적 민족주의를 통해 각각의 경우에 적합한 구체적 대안을 논하여 외국인노동자들에 대한 포용과 다문화 사회의 가능한 방향을 제시하고자 하였다.

Foreign Workers and Korean Nationalism: Inclusion of Others through Liberal Nationalism Koreans tend to think themselves as a unitary nation with a unified culture. But for recent 10 years foreign workers have increased drastically in Korea. This trend has an intimate relationship with loosened boundaries of nation-states through increased flows of world capitals and labors. This process of globalization has led Korean society to become multicultural. Yet, people in contemporary Korea still regard foreign workers as surplus labor, which partly reflects as an aspect of Korean people's inflexibility to recent changes. This paper attempts to explore the fundamental reason of socio-political problems related to foreign workers especially in social norm underlying treating aliens, which is deeply rooted in Korean nationalism. Therefore, the main question is concerned with analyzing the possibility of inclusion of foreign workers through cultivating positive accommodation in Korean nationalism in consideration of Korean reality. First of all, this paper is to examine Korean nationalism in view of liberal nationalism. Thereafter the paper will argue that Korean nationalism is partly responsible for discrimination of foreign workers because of its distorted racist and exclusive characteristics. Hence, Korean Nationalism can be justified only when it remains within the bounds of liberal nationalism, which is more inclusive and attached to individual liberty. This paper is to apply this argument to the different cases of foreign workers in Korea, and examine how liberal nationalism reply to the situation respectively. In conclusion, this paper attempts to argue that a liberal version of Korean nationalism can provide normative basis for inclusion of foreign workers in a more multiculturalized Korean society.

Foreign Workers and Korean Nationalism: Inclusion of Others through Liberal Nationalism Koreans tend to think themselves as a unitary nation with a unified culture. But for recent 10 years foreign workers have increased drastically in Korea. This trend has an intimate relationship with loosened boundaries of nation-states through increased flows of world capitals and labors. This process of globalization has led Korean society to become multicultural. Yet, people in contemporary Korea still regard foreign workers as surplus labor, which partly reflects as an aspect of Korean people's inflexibility to recent changes. This paper attempts to explore the fundamental reason of socio-political problems related to foreign workers especially in social norm underlying treating aliens, which is deeply rooted in Korean nationalism. Therefore, the main question is concerned with analyzing the possibility of inclusion of foreign workers through cultivating positive accommodation in Korean nationalism in consideration of Korean reality. First of all, this paper is to examine Korean nationalism in view of liberal nationalism. Thereafter the paper will argue that Korean nationalism is partly responsible for discrimination of foreign workers because of its distorted racist and exclusive characteristics. Hence, Korean Nationalism can be justified only when it remains within the bounds of liberal nationalism, which is more inclusive and attached to individual liberty. This paper is to apply this argument to the different cases of foreign workers in Korea, and examine how liberal nationalism reply to the situation respectively. In conclusion, this paper attempts to argue that a liberal version of Korean nationalism can provide normative basis for inclusion of foreign workers in a more multiculturalized Korean society.

Foreign Workers, Korean Nationalism, Liberal Nationalism, Multiculturalism