The purpose of this study is to find out the meaning of experience
of multicultural practice through the practice experiences of
multicultural practitioner and the mechanism of how to acquire cultural
competence in the course of practice. For this, eight practitioners who
are engaged in multicultural settings participated and were interviewed
in depth. The data were analyzed using general qualitative research
methods. Findings show that the experience of multicultural practice
was a process of confronting the errors and the obstacles that make
it difficult to practice. And the mechanism to acquire the cultural
competence was identified as a process of gradually expanding the
field of view from self to the client and from the client to community
through the virtuous cycle of self-growth with self-reflection and
practical wisdom. Therefore, in order to improve the cultural
competence of practitioners self-awareness and reflection efforts should
be required. Also, institutional-level efforts such as regular supervision
and activation of case meetings, as well as differentiated education
based on experience and ability, curricula related to cultural
competence are needed in planning education courses. I also suggest
the need of ethical behavior guidelines for multicultural practice.