Embracing Society, Children, and Music: Approaches to Constructing Community-Based Educational Programs

Abstract

With the implementation of recent immigration policies that have encouraged an influx of migrants into the peninsula, South Korea is evolving into a multi- ethnic state, raising the demand for discussions of how to coexist with immi- grants and build a healthy multicultural society. This study focuses on ways to nurture cultural diversity within the youth education spectrum. It examines how the experience of collaborative music-making closely parallels community building practices in terms of embracing and honoring oneself and others, argu- ing that the implication of collective artmaking in youth education in South Korea may help children’s understanding and acceptance of multiculturalism. This study also closely investigated three methods of El Sistema, a pioneer youth orchestra program that opened the door to the possibility of pursuing orchestral education as a transformational agent for cultural improvement in society. Instead of focusing on the musical aspects of the program, it highlights the extramusical components of El Sistema’s methods that contribute to social improvement. Finally, the study suggests that South Korea may apply collabo- rative music-making activities and the El Sistema model as baseline data to strategically plan community-based educational programs that integrate and em- brace cultural diversity.