Mentor-Mentee Program for Multicultural Family Creates Heartwarming Stories
Thanks to Mentors’ Devotion, Immigrant Families Have Faith in Korea

The Mentor-Mentee Program, which the Gyeonggi Provincial Government has operated since April to help foreign immigrant brides, is coming to fruition.

In cooperation with the Home-town Loving Housewives and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the provincial government introduced mentors to fifty multicultural families with foreign brides who have encountered difficulties adjusting to life in Korea.

According to the provincial government, since the implementation of the Mentor-Mentee Program, mentors have visited multicultural families three to five times a month, providing recipes for Korean dishes and basic Korean language instruction as well as advice on family life. They have taken care of the immigrant families as if they were the foreigners’ actual sisters or mothers.

The program has generated hear-warming stories. Lee Ok-soon, one of the mentors involved in the program, found that her mentee was pregnant but could not afford an obstetrician. Lee described this the difficult situation to a gynecologist (Ansan Woosung Hospital) in the neighborhood and helped the mentee receive free medical support. The mentee gave birth to a healthy girl on the 15th.

Another mentor worried that an immigrant bride was spending too much time chatting online and that it could potentially cause trouble in the family. She reported the situation to the program manager who in turn visited the mentee’s family with a family counselor, herself an immigrant. Eventually they were able to resolve conflicts within the family which had originated from differences in language and culture.

A provincial official said, “Thanks to the devoted efforts of mentees, the families of immigrant brides have gained faith in Korea life. The mentors also feel gratification.” He added, “The program participants agree that such an initiative must be expanded to help the ever-increasing number multicultural families in Korea.”

For more information, please contact the Family and Women Policy Division at 031-8008-2508.