Critical Cosmopolitan Literacies of Korean University Students Interacting with Mongolian Teachers

Abstract

In South Korea, as in the rest of today’s interconnected world, it is more important than ever to understand how students, the global citizens of the future, connect and communicate across differences of all kinds. Situated in a sociocultural perspective, this ethnographic case study examines intercultural engagement through the framework of critical cosmopolitanism. Specifically, it investigates how a group of Korean university students practiced critical cosmopolitan literacies—that is, how they demonstrated hospitality and critical reflection—while acting as cultural guides for visiting educators from Mongolia. Participating students received surveys both before and after the exchange. Supplemented by my own informal observations over the course of the exchange and focusing on the core tenets of critical cosmopolitanism, ethics of care and criticality, a thematic analysis of the students’ responses was conducted. The imposed themes reflect the diverse ways students sought to establish an inclusive environment, including by building relationships, positioning themselves as responsive interlocutors, and accommodating their counterparts’ perspectives. I also found they gained distance from their own enculturated beliefs, including by recognizing the limitations of their own perspectives and questioning norms and assumptions. Points of friction included limitations in the students’ cosmopolitan imagination, while positive emotions facilitated the students’ cosmopolitan interactions. This study takes an asset-oriented approach that explores students’ demonstrated critical cosmopolitan literacies and points of friction/facilitation in order to provide practical recommendations for enhancing future intercultural programs in Asia, with the ultimate purpose of cultivating more compassionate, critical global citizens and creating a more just and welcoming world.