On March 8, Gyeonggi Province selected 20 foreign residents of Gyeonggi Province as honorary ambassadors to expand community participation and communication among foreign residents, and held an appointment ceremony at the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex.

The honorary ambassadors consist of 20 foreign residents speaking 17 languages from 16 countries (Nepal, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Japan, China, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Hong Kong) who live in 12 cities/counties of Gyeonggi Province, including Goyang-Gimpo, Namyangju, Bucheon, Siheung, Ansan, Yangju, Uiju, Paju, Pyeongtaek, Pocheon, and Hwaseong. They were selected based on their Korean language proficiency, social contributions, social media utilization, and leadership.

The honorary ambassadors will work for two years, from March this year to June next year, to build a disaster safety net for foreign residents and integrate them into local communities. Their main roles include timely delivery of emergency disaster texts, distribution of disaster safety prevention news, delivery of information on change of residence status, provision of information on initial life adaptation, and cooperation on specialized materials and work related to foreign residents.

The honorary ambassadors – who are naturalized citizens, married immigrants, international students, migrant workers, and refugees – are involved in research, education, translation and interpretation, and social organization activities. Gyeonggi Province expects that these appointments will help foreign residents who have settled the local communities to engage in activities that have a practical impact on their lives, contribute to disaster prevention and safety, and expand communication with foreign communities.

In March last year, Gyeonggi Province launched a pilot program to promote disaster safety among foreign residents by appointing 20 honorary ambassadors for migrant safety culture. The program received positive feedback from foreign residents who previously had difficulty accessing disaster information, as they could easily access disaster prevention safety information and answers to their questions in their own language.

In recognition of its success, the project also received an encouragement award at the “2023 Best Practice Contest for Local Government Support for Foreign Residents” organized by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, among 39 cases of support for foreign residents undertaken by local governments nationwide.

Recognizing the need to more actively implement the pilot project and expand its scope, Gyeonggi Province revised the relevant ordinance last year so as to lay the groundwork for the appointment of honorary ambassadors for foreign residents.

“We will strive to ensure that foreign residents of Gyeonggi Province can live safely and soundly in disaster situations as well as in everyday life… Gyeonggi Province will take the lead in overcoming crises by respecting and harmonizing with foreign residents at a time when the issues of population decline and an aging population are growing,” said Kang Hee-joong, Director of the Foreigner Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province.

For more information, please contact the Gyeonggi Human Rights Support Center (031-492-9347), which oversees the Gyeonggi Foreign Resident Honorary Ambassador Program.