17/02/2024
The 227th International Comprehension Course
Date: Sunday, February 11th, 2024
Place: MIRAIE TAKAMATSU
Guest speaker: Mr. Chanyoung Park (Virginia, USA)
Theme: Racial and Cultural Diversity in America
Mr. Park has been working as a CIR (coordinator for international relations) at the executive office of the Governor of Kagawa Prefecture since August, 2023.
He started to talk about his roots, saying that his parents immigrated to the USA from South Korea. He was born in Pennsylvania and went to many states on the East Coast, including Virginia. He chose Japanese as a foreign language to learn at school because he liked Japanese music and games, and he thought Japanese history was very closely related to Korean history.
He went on to talk about immigrants in America: children born in the USA have American citizenship and many people come to and stay in America looking for better life and religious freedom. Also, while telling us about Fairfax County where his parents live, he said that there is struggle for equality and even now, community people still experience racial prejudice, although with more diversity, there is less and less prejudice. He pointed out that many cultures are mixed together, which results in a new culture. This can be seen in language (Konglish) and food (fusion food), for example. Multicultural society makes it possible for him to make friends of different cultural backgrounds and to learn about their cultures through interaction. He emphasized that he could expand his views through recognizing those differences. As for Japan, he said that many foreign people living and working here might have difficulty in becoming a part of Japanese society because of linguistic barrier and cultural differences. Considering that Japan has a decreasing population and is relying on foreign laborers, she will need to change.
In conclusion, Mr. Park reminded us of the following 3 things necessary for multicultural society: (1) try not to assume based on outward appearance (2) don’t be afraid of or avoid foreigners (3) listen to other people about their cultures, because firsthand voices are better than secondhand news.
Mr. Park’s presentation was translated and interpreted by Ms. Mitsuhashi, who is a member of the Kagawa SGG club. (By Masayo Kurokawa)
