February 24, 2008
By Yoon Sojung (Korea.net Staff writer)

As Korea is becoming a multicultural society, the national and local governments are providing support programs for residents and workers from overseas by establishing networks and the infrastructure for multicultural communities.

Gyeonggi-do (Province) is among the leading provinces that recently announced support programs to help migrant workers and multicultural families live happier lives in Korea.

In the past, the government’s legal system focused on supporting the industrial trainee system and cracking down on illegal immigration. Since 2003, the government’s focus has shifted to helping migrants adapt to life in Korea such as international marriages and supporting them to form multicultural communities and introducing legal standards for the treatment of and work conditions for migrant workers.

In line with the government’s policy of providing comprehensive support for migrants by introducing laws and systems, Gyeonggi Province plans to introduce a comprehensive system to support multicultural society, improve the business environment for foreign investors and establish systems to provide medical care and support.

Establishing a multicultural society

According to statistics, as of May 2007, 29.7 percent or 214,727 out of 722,686 migrants — the largest proportion of the total population — reside in Gyeonggi Province.

To support the building of the infrastructure for a multicultural society, Gyeonggi Province signed a memorandum of understanding to help the International Organization for Migration (IOM) construct an Immigration Policy Research Center in Goyang by 2009. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an international organization, established in 1951, with 120 member countries and 20 cooperating countries to support international migrants and protect their rights.

The province plans to set up regulations to support foreign residents during the first half of 2008, build five welfare centers, hire skilled foreign staff with expertise and investigate the actual number of foreign residents in the region by May this year.

Gyeonggi Province also decided to support the designation of “Together Day” on May 20 to raise awareness of multiculturalism and cultural exchange, launch multicultural week events, encourage foreign residents’ participation in local communities, form a network of foreign residents and support multicultural families by facilitating invitation programs for the families of foreign spouses’ overseas.

Protection of migrant workers

To protect and strengthen the rights of migrant workers against overdue wages, violence, human rights violations and other various difficulties, Gyeonggi Province will support the management of 71 help centers, including 65 private counseling centers for migrant workers, four centers in Suwon, Ansan, Siheung and Namyangju and two labor help centers in Ansan and Uijeongbu.

Gyeonggi Province also supports the establishment of a medical care support system (telephone: 1330) in cooperation with the Kyonggi-do (Gyeonggi-do) Medical Association (031-255-1397) and the Gyeonggi Province Medical Center (031-250-8800) that runs six medical centers for foreign residents in Suwon. The province also runs medical centers in Ansan, Anyang and Siheung where many migrant workers live. The province runs a 24-hour medical care system for foreign residents at Aju University Medical Center (031-219-5114) and Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital’s International Healthcare Center (031-820-3636).

Help programs for foreign spouses

Gyeonggi Province will support 35 Korean language centers in 27 counties, including Suwon and Guri, in order to help foreign spouses better their lives in Korea. The province will also tighten the supervision of international marriage matchmaking agencies. Gyeonggi Province runs a hot line (telephone 1577-1266) to provide useful information and counseling service for migrants in the area.

To provide the opportunity of experiencing Korean culture and to offer counseling services, the province will build five more support centers for multicultural families. The province has been running four support centers in Suwon, Seongnam, Ansan and Uijeongbu.

(Source: Korea.net)