Among many countries in the world, Korea stands out because it is one of the few that is not culturally diverse. Even though Korea has recently taken in various religions and foreigners, the population is still mostly formed of one ethnic group. Until recently, Koreans have been proud of its ethnic homogeneity. However, some have now started saying that Koreans should accept other nations and peoples to develop internationally. This has lead to a heated discussion about whether or not Korea should maintain its unity.

To start off, what is the definition of a “single-race nation”? A country is called a single-race nation when it consists of one ethnicity or when other commodities exist, but are too small in number to have an impact on the main group. Currently, South Korea, North Korea, Portugal, Ireland, Albania, Poland and Yemen are all considered single race, while China, America, Canada and India are considered multi-race.

I believe that Korea should change into a heterogeneous community for three reasons, which I will call the 3 C’s: congeniality, communication and cultural development.

Firstly, culturally diverse nations have greater congenialities between different ethnic groups. Because there is no “main” ethnic party, the minority will not feel a sense of alienation, and so there will be more friendliness between the congregations. This will lead to less civil war, which happen because some think they are superior to others.

Secondly, if Korea changes into an ethnically lenient country, communication between groups will increase in both quantity and quality. Most single-race nations only accept the language of the main ethnic group. Foreigners in culturally single race countries say that they have trouble communicating with their neighbors because they only know their native language. Therefore, such people remain as the silent minority. However, culturally diverse countries accept various languages, so people will be able to understand each other better.

As everyone knows, Korean is the official language of Korea. It is impossible to maintain a lifestyle in Korea if you do not speak Korean. However, the United States do not have an official language. Not only do people speak English, but they speak Spanish, French and Chinese as well. Therefore, it is a lot easier for non-English speakers to live.

Thirdly, Korea will be able to develop in culture if it changes into a distinct commonwealth. It will be able to accept a lot of different customs, and blend them all together into a totally unique culture. If it stays as a single-race nation, it will not be able to keep pace with the quickening global society. Countries that have not yet fully developed are actually nations that have refused to incorporate other nations’ trends into their own and have isolated themselves from other countries.

Some say that Korea should stay as a unitary country because it creates a stronger bond between people. However, this will lead to the remoteness between the majority and the minority, and might even lead to collisions between them. Also, they state that it will lead to social integration and progress due to the same ethnicity. In other words, the forced cultural unification will lead to greater problems, as it will make the smaller populations angry by refusing to allow their ethics.

Homogeneous countries and heterogeneous countries all have good points and bad points. However, Koreans are leaning too much on the anti-heterogeneous side. For Korea’s future, Koreans should stop protecting its culture but should also embrace different cultures, languages and ethics and should make foreigners feel at home. After all, it’s a big world, and we’re not the only people who live in it.