Drawing on public opinion data on multicultural people in Korea collected in 2013 by the
SSK Cultural Diversity and Coexistence Research Team, we investigated the structural
relationships among the variables influencing multicultural acceptance among Korean adults with
special attention to the role played by educational attainment using the structural equation
modeling(SEM). We also examined how the structural relationships vary by the presence and
absence of foreigners or immigrants around the subject of the study. Our SEM results showed
that educational attainment, class identification, ethnic identity, and civic consciousness all had a
significant impact on multicultural acceptance. Especially, it was proven that educational
attainment exerted a direct effect on multicultural acceptance and also had an indirect effect on
it via class identification, ethnic identity, and civic consciousness. While subjective class
identification and ethnic identity were negatively associated with multicultural acceptance, civic
consciousness exerted a very strong positive impact on multicultural acceptance. Meanwhile, the
results from multi-group analysis exhibited that for those who have had contact with foreigners
or immigrants around them, the negative effect of ethnic identity on multicultural acceptance
might to some extent be mitigated. Taken together, it is highly likely that schooling could be
very instrumental in improving multicultural acceptance in Korean society. Presumably,
schooling might become a more effective vehicle for improving multicultural acceptance when it
puts more emphasis on promoting students’ civic consciousness than on enlightening students
about multiculturalism itself.