For people living in foreign countries, it is important and challenging to adapt themselves to the cultures of their host countries while also maintaining their own cultural identities. What particular cultural and social aspects influence immigrants? Does the unavailability of food items familiar to them dramatically influence their quality of life? To discuss these issues, this seminar was held jointly with the Chungnam Women’s Policy Development Institute (CWPDI), Republic of Korea.
| 1．Date | November 15, 2008（Saturday）15:00～17:00 |
| 2．Venue | Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center “MOVE” |
| 3．Theme | “Female International Migrants’ Current Status of Cultural Conflicts and Health Problems in Japan and ROK” |
| 4．Organizers | Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women (KFAW) Chungcheongnam-do Women’s Plicy Development Institute (CWPDI) |
| Coordinator | Chung Nam CHO, Professor, Department of Politics, Korea University Presenters |
| Presenters | Yong-Joo KIM, Researcher, CWPDI “Female Migrants’ Cultural Conflicts and Their Strategy of Coping with It as It Is Related to Food” |
| Yuko HIRANO, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medical Science, Kyushu University “The Health Problems of the Aged Koreans in Japan” | |
| Discussants | Yukari YAMASHITA, Representative, Global Life Support Center |
| Kyoung-Hee MOON, Researcher, CWPDI |
Among the various problems resulting from immigration and adaptation to the cultures of host countries are problems related to cooking and eating. Many non-Korean women who married Korean men and who are living in the Republic of Korea have been assimilating Korean culinary culture. Yet, they also try to use the foodstuffs of their home countries in Korean dishes, or cook their home countries’ dishes using locally available ingredients. Sometimes, these women gather together to dine, appreciating their home countries’ delicacies. They also use such human networks to exchange and share foodstuffs of their home countries.
For immigrants, such networks of people from their home countries play an essential role in sustaining their physical and mental health since the networks can provide them with opportunities to exchange information and encourage each other.
This seminar proved to be extremely rewarding for participants since they were able to deepen their understanding about multicultural societies, and to seek ideal ways of creating multicultural, multiethnic societies.
