Four phenomena are driving our society towards a multicultural society:international globalization, nomadism trend, influx of migrant workers, and mingling of women from foreign countries. While multicultural society is being promoted in diverse ways, cultural conflicts are being created because of lack of understanding about multiculturalism.
However, traditional tales had multicultural characteristics even in traditional society because the folktales were composed of diverse imaginary and creative cultures. Confucian scholars with multicultural perspective paid attention to peripheral and minority cultures through folktales instead of devoting to Confucianism based on scriptures. They were not concerned by criticism and condemnation of their colleagues, and therefore published folktales and even farcical tales. The most representative folktales is Taepyeonghanhwa golgyejeon written by Seo Geo-jeong.
Golgyejeon is a collection of anti-Confucian folktales that conflict with Confucian culture and such folktales can be divided into four types:criticizing the virtues of Confucianism, recognizing and approving Buddhism culture, pursuing feminism by refusing patriarchy, and affirming the ability of servants who were considered to be inferior to nobilities. The collection induces laughter by turning over the Confucian culture using other cultures, and such reversals are separated into 1) a moral reversal that overturns the values of Confucianism as a whole, 2) a religious reversal that overturns Confucianism by Buddhism, 3) a feministic reversal that overturns patriarchy, and 4) a social class reversal that overturns the class structure. Therefore, multicultural perspectives of scholars who communicated with anti-Confucian cultures must be accepted by observing such farcical tales.
Multicultural society is divided into conservative multiculturalism that insists on the assimilation into the majority and liberal multiculturalism that seeks to integrate different cultural groups into the mainstream culture. Relationship between different cultures is explained as conflicting relationship, coexisting relationship, and win-win relationship. Therefore, in order to achieve healthy multicultural society, various cultures must have win-win relationships with each other under liberal multiculturalism. Identity of the mainstream culture must first be secured. Then the values of other cultures should be recognized equally and all cultures must be able to communicate and interchange with one another. Truly multicultural society can only be realized when all cultures can sympathize with 1other cultures and such sympathy creates harmony.
Seo Geo-jeong provided such argument through the compilation of Golgyejeon. In order to protect and create healthy and clean identities of Confucianism, he gathered together the cultures of Buddhism, Feminism, and the Folkism and gave them a win-win relationship. Seo Geo-jeong, a Confucian scholar, was a true multiculturalist who wished for the protection of the mainstream culture and also for harmonious interaction between the mainstream and minority cultures.