Perceived Social Capital and Multicultural Acceptance in South Korea: A Comparative Study of Migrant Workers, Refugees and Overseas Koreans

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of perceived social capital among Korean adults on their multicultural acceptance of three distinct migrant groups: migrant workers, refugees, and overseas Koreans. Specifically, it seeks to examine how multicultural acceptance is shaped differently across these migrant categories by focusing on the sub-components of social capital. The study utilizes the raw data from the 2024 National Survey on Social Cohesion and conducts multiple regression analyses based on a sample of 3,011 Korean adults. The results reveal that both social trust and institutional trust exert a significant positive effect on multicultural acceptance toward refugees, whereas no statistically significant relationships were found for migrant workers and overseas Koreans. Furthermore, socio-demographic factors, including gender, generation, educational attainment, subjective income level, and frequency of contact with foreigners, were found to have varying influences on multicultural acceptance depending on the type of migrant group. These findings highlight the heterogeneous nature of multicultural attitudes within Korean society and underscore the importance of incorporating the role of social capital into the development of targeted social integration policies for different migrant populations.