Multicultural families, apply now to visit your homelands
Createdd 2015-07-20 Hit 1070
Contents
“Wow, it’s a foreigner!”
It was not so long ago when Koreans were surprised to encounter foreigners. However, it is not so difficult to see foreigners these days. On TV, you can see numerous shows about families in which one member is a foreigner.
We refer to these families as “multicultural families”, and the increasing number of multicultural families has led to the creation of the term “multicultural” (damunhwa) in Korean.
One out of ten Korean families is multicultural
According to the “2014 Foreigner Residents in Local Autonomies” report by the Ministry of Government and Home Affairs, foreigners residing in Korea – including foreign laborers, foreign students, married immigrants and children of foreign residents – number 1,569,740.
In other words, three out of every 100 people residing in Korea are of foreign origin. Of particular note, the ratio of multicultural families is increasing; there are 26,000 international marriages in Korea, accounting for 8 percent of all marriages in the nation. In 2012, there were 266,547 multicultural family households, meaning that every one out of every 10 families in Korea is a multicultural family.
Definition of a multicultural family
Then what is a multicultural family?
The Multicultural Family Support Act defines a multicultural family as described below and takes the following protective measures:
- Multicultural Family Support Act
- Article 1 (Purpose)
The purpose of this Act is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of multi-cultural family members and the unity of society by helping multi-cultural family members enjoy stable family life.
- Article 2 (Definitions)
The definition of terms used in this Act shall be as follows:
- 1. A “multicultural family” is any type of family that corresponds to the following sector.
- (a) A family comprised of a married immigrant under subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on Treatment of Foreigners Residing in the Republic of Korea and a person who acquired the nationality of the Republic of Korea by birth pursuant from Article 2 to Article 4 of the Nationality Act
- (b) A family comprised of a person who obtained permission for naturalization under Article 4 of the Nationality Act and a person who acquired the nationality of the Republic of Korea by birth pursuant to Article 2 of the aforesaid Act;
- 2. The term “married immigrant or naturalized citizen, etc.” means any of the following persons
- (a) A married immigrant defined in Subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on Treatment of Foreigners Residing in the Republic of Korea
- (b) A person who obtained permission for naturalization under Article 4 of the Nationality Act.
What is needed most?
With their numbers expanding in Korean society, there are various measures that support multicultural families under the relevant act, and these include providing them with necessary information, education, medical services and multi-language services. However, anyone will know during even a short trip overseas how much support and effort is needed when residing in a foreign country.
What multicultural families may need most is the warmth of their homeland.
Homeland visiting project undertaken as a corporate social responsibility activity
A special gift will be offered to multicultural families who miss their homelands.
As a part of its social responsibility activities, Gyeonggi Province, together with Jeju Air and the Korea Gas Corporation, will offer chances for multicultural families to visit their homelands. Those interested are invited to apply.
- Period: For three weeks from Monday, May 11, to Friday, May 29, 2015
- Target Number of People: 53 families (Maximum of 212 people) ※ Four people per family (Beneficiaries to bear costs for extra persons)
- Supported Items: Round-trip airfare, onsite costs, traveler’s insurance, album production cost, fuel surcharge, airport facility cost (Six countries – China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand)
- Application qualification
– Multicultural families residing in Gyeonggi Province for three years or more
– Families with no disqualifiers for overseas travel as couples should particpate together
– Families who have been unable to return to their homelands for the last three years
– Families who not received similar support from other institutions/companies within the past five years - Visiting Period: Anytime from June 2015 to December 2017 (Discuss with Gyeonggi Province Multicultural Family Center)
* Visiting time can be adjusted due to the conditions of the sponsors - Required Documents: ID card, resume, personal information collection agreement, certificate of entry/exit issued from the Korean Immigration (married immigrant), copy of passports (in case of exit by marriage immigrants), health insurance copies, certificate of health insurance payments for past three months
- Where to Apply: Multicultural Family Help Centers in 31 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province (e-mail and post available)
- Inquiry: Multicultural Family Help Centers in 31 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province; Gyeonggi Province Multicultural Family Center (☎599-1717)
We hope that multicultural families will be perceived as our friendly neighbors, not as foreigners, with whom we share happiness.
