‘홍익인간(弘益人間)’ 이념과 다문화사회

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review the ‘Hongik Human’ ideology and re-examine its meaning, and to connect it with today's multicultural society to explore implications for peace and coexistence from a multicultural perspective. The ‘Hongik Human’ ideology has played a significant role in the history of Koreans, deeply embedded in the history of Korean thought from the Dangun era to the present, as a major context in the founding myth of our people with a long history. The ideology of ‘Hongik Human’ with these characteristics can be sufficiently established as an ideological basis for promoting cultural convergence in a modern multicultural society. The ‘Hongik Human’ ideology contains the ideal of coexistence that any human being should be able to enjoy the benefits given by heaven without discrimination. For example, it is a world where opposing things coexist, like a world where bears and tigers can live in one cave. In the ideology of the ‘Hongik Human’, it is not self-righteousness that only I am right or self-existence that only I exist, but harmony and coexistence that we should live in harmony with each other based on the universality of truth are deeply embedded. In Dangun mythology, heaven, earth, and humans appear in order. Humans are born in the form of a heavenly soul planted in a land existence. Sky, land, and humans symbolize different cultures, suggesting a typical pattern of a multicultural society in which each culture is fused to form a new culture. In the Dangun myth, the birth of Dangun can be said to mean the combination of heterogeneous cultures. The archetypal implications of multiculturalism are inherent in this myth, which embraces different opponents and their cultures and sustains communities in an orderly manner. Today, as globalization and informatization have emerged as a huge trend in the global community, they are undergoing rapid changes in various fields such as social, political, economic, cultural, and religious. At this time, we need experts in each field to work together to find ways to more actively and actively utilize the wisdom of tradition obtained from the ‘Hongik Human’ ideology.