– Gyeonggi Province Helps Marriage Immigrants Adapt Quickly to Life in Korea through Language Education

According to data released by the Korea National Statistical Office in April of 2008, the number of mixed nationality couples who divorced in 2007 was 8,828, compared to 6,280 the previous year, a 40.6% increase. The major causes given for such divorces were conflicts with in-laws, followed by language barriers, indicating the urgent need for Korean language education for marriage immigrants.

Responding to this need, Gyeonggi Province is operating Korean language programs at 55 different sites so as to help marriage immigrants adapt to Korean society more easily and quickly.

Marites, who is a student attending the Korean language course in Gwangju, won the grand prize for her presentation entitled “As a Korean Mom rather than a Foreigner” in a contest held for marriage immigrants. The contest was organized by the Korean Ministry of Public Administration and Security on June 12, 2008.

As of the end of May, 55 Korean language instructors and 83 assistant instructors had taught 1,523 marriage immigrants through the Korean language program.

To promote Korean language education, 19,400 Korean language textbooks were distributed, and reference books by nationality were also distributed to enable individual learners to undertake self-directed learning activities at their homes in order to improve their educational performance.

¡Ø Textbooks for Beginners: 5,000 / Basic Level Textbooks: 10,400 (in Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Pilipino) / Intermediate Level Textbooks: 4,000

Gyeonggi Province plans to provide childcare centers and financial support for mothers who are full-time caregivers, so as to enable marriage immigrants to concentrate on Korean language studies during the course.

Although Gyeonggi Province has become home to the largest number of marriage immigrants in Korea, with 25.6% of the total marriage immigrants nationwide, Gyeonggi residents in the past had to visit Seoul to take the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). For the convenience of marriage immigrants, Gyeonggi Province and the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation agreed to enable Gyeonggi residents to take the test in Gyeonggi Province starting in 2009.

* TOPIK is currently available at 7 sites (Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, Daegu, Jeju, and Cheongju)

To help marriage immigrants to adapt more easily to Korean society, the province will provide occupational training for more than 100 immigrants who are proficient in Korean. Those who are selected will be trained at women’s centers and social welfare centers in the cities of Suwon, Seongnam, Siheung, Gwangmyeon, and Anseong, and the training program will consist of cuisine, skin care, and storytelling. Through the occupational training program, marriage immigrants will be able to build a stronger foundation for self-support; those with a high interest in the Korean language will train as Korean language instructors and serve as assistant instructors in the future.

* Number of marriage immigrants in Gyeonggi Province: 29,442 (Female immigrants: 25,276 / Male immigrants: 4,166)

– 25.6% of the total number of marriage immigrants in Korea (115,113) (Source: Korean Ministry of Justice, March 2008)