With the number of foreign workers in Korea surpassing one million, there are active discussions on improving their living environment and policies on multiculturalism. Against this backdrop, Gyeonggi Province is gaining widespread attention by offering language programs to staff of foreign-invested companies as well as Korean workers in the Province.

Communication is highly critical for foreign-invested companies in their localization efforts. Gyeonggi Province paid close attention to this point and launched its off-line language programs in 2006 to help Korean workers of foreign-invested companies enhance their foreign language proficiency, and foreign staff to adjust to their new lives in Korea.

The on-line programs, which began earlier this year, have also drawn considerable attention with 4,200 people applying for the programs as of the end of September 2009. This represents a 16-fold increase compared to the previous year, during which only 260 people applied for the programs.

In addition to foreign language programs, Gyeonggi Province is offering corporate language programs as well as off-line Korean classes.
– If a company introduces a corporate language class, the Province supports 50% of teacher salaries for six months of the year. Korean classes, which are offered to Japanese executives and employees, as well as their family members, are offered once a week, on two levels—beginner and intermediate.
– Off-line classes are not simply about offering language lessons; they hold greater meaning in their provision of Korean cultural learning by creating a strong bond among participants, building common understanding and a sense of community.

Through Gyeonggi Association of Foreign-invested Companies’ e-Learning Center (www.gafic.or.kr), Gyeonggi Province offers programs for three languages (English, Japanese, China) in roughly 180 locations, including conversation, grammar, and business conversation. All foreign-invested companies located in Gyeonggi Province are eligible to make use of these programs.