Multicultural music education in present-day Korea: An investigation

The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of multicultural music education in Korea. The primary research questions were based on (1) the music teacher education programs; (2) music textbooks used in grades 1 through 12 music classrooms; and (3) perceptions of music education faculty and music teachers. Data were gathered through document analysis, music textbook analysis, and interviews with four music education faculty and six music teachers. The result showed that only seven courses were offered at four universities among their undergraduate and gradate courses. The data analysis of music textbooks from grades 1 through 12 identified several problems: (1) unclear origins of the songs; (2) mistranslation; (3) the lack of non-musical contextual information; (4) the lack of diversity in the regions; (5) limitation of the performance style; and (6) poor quality of photos and other illustrations.;The perceptions of music education faculty were identified: (1) definitions of "multicultural music"; (2) issues of authenticity; (3) the need for multicultural music education; (4) the most propitious time for starting multicultural music education; (5) the problems of pre- and in-service teacher education; (6) limited understanding of multicultural music education; (7) quantity and quality of multicultural music materials; and (8) the lack of funding. Professors suggested: (1) change perceptions regarding multicultural music education; (2) offer multicultural music classes specifically for pre-service teachers; (3) systemize materials and academic resources for multicultural music education; (4) provide opportunities for concerts and workshops in multicultural music education; and (5) devote more funds.;Music teachers pointed to six problems: (1) the problems of teaching songs in their native language; (2) shortage of time; (3) the absence of cultural context in a music class; (4) the deficit of materials; (5) the lack of pre- and in-service teacher education; and (6) limited understanding of multicultural music education. Music teachers suggested: (1) offer pre- and in-service teacher education for multicultural music education; (2) systemize and offer materials for music class; (3) increase the time for music instruction; and (4) include accurate information of multicultural music in music textbooks. The recommendations of the professors and teachers suggest that with the increasing number of immigrants from various parts of the world now settling in Korea, that Korean schools are facing a multicultural future. The schools are the perfect medium in which world cultures can be explored to the greater understanding of Korean students. This expansion of cultural information depends greatly on music as an important universal feature of all societies.