Gyeonggi Province has published a guidebook for foreign residents that is packed with a diverse range of information and knowledge to help them overcome difficulties and improve their ability to participate in their local communities.

The Guidebook for Living in Gyeonggi Province was published in Korean and Chinese, and has been distributed to individuals (foreign residents) and organizations supporting foreign residents, including foreign embassies, immigration offices, welfare centers for foreign residents, businesses with foreign employees, non-profit organizations supporting foreign residents, and 31 cities and counties.

The Province also uploaded the contents of the Guidebook to allow easy access to the information. For the full text, log on to Gyeongginet (www.gg.go.kr), and click on Frequently Asked Services – E-book.

The Guidebook is categorized by contents and is presented in a reader-friendly format. The Guidebook includes the latest information to support foreign residents including guidelines for living, transportation, healthcare, emergencies, job seeking, immigration, prenatal care and childbirth care.

Gyeonggi Province has the largest number of foreign residents in the nation. As of May 1, 2008, there were 277,991 foreign residents in Gyeonggi Province, accounting for 31.2 percent of foreign residents of Korea (data from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security). This number represented 2.5 percent of the total population of the Province (11,164,324), with a year-on-year increase of 29.4 percent.

Family and Women`s Policy Division Director Jeong Suk-Young said, “The Guidebook will be continuously upgraded, and English, Chinese, and Vietnamese versions of the Guidebook will be published in the first half of 2009. Support for other languages will be provided when the number of foreign residents using those languages increases.”