Gwangju City Launches Nation's First 'Foreign Resident Council'

Gwangju Metropolitan City is taking a commemorative photo with the attending members at the Foreign Resident Council inauguration ceremony held in the afternoon of the 11th at the city hall's main conference room. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Foreign Resident Council (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Council’), which will represent the diverse voices of foreign residents living in Gwangju Metropolitan City, has been launched for the first time nationwide.

Gwangju City announced that on the afternoon of the 11th, it held the inauguration ceremony of the Foreign Resident Council in the city hall’s medium conference room, followed by the first meeting.

The Council was established by Gwangju City to address difficulties foreign residents face in obtaining living information amid the increase of foreign workers and foreign students, to propose and convey policies related to foreign residents, and to rapidly disseminate COVID-19 quarantine information.

To this end, Gwangju City selected a total of 19 members from foreign residents aged 18 or older who are proficient in Korean, have legal residence status in the Republic of Korea, and have lived in Korea and Gwangju for a certain period, including marriage immigrants. Recommendations were received from multicultural family support centers in autonomous districts, local universities, and foreign worker support centers.

The members are from 12 countries including Nepal, Vietnam, India, China, the Philippines, Mongolia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kenya, and Thailand.

In particular, they are active in various fields such as interpreters and translators counseling marriage immigrants and workers on family life and workplace difficulties, representatives of foreign worker communities by country, local university professors, international students, and homemakers, and are expected to play a role in representing local foreign residents.

Going forward, Council members will propose policies related to foreign residents, provide advice, and communicate inconveniences to Gwangju City.

Gwangju City plans to notify relevant departments of the proposals or inconveniences raised by the members and take corrective actions to ensure improvements are made.

Yoon Mok-hyun, Director of the Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace Bureau of Gwangju City, said, “In the post-COVID era where numerous boundaries are disappearing and various fields are converging, diverse cultures and ideas should coexist in deep understanding and empathy rather than conflict and confrontation, creating a happy future for all.” He added, “We expect the Foreign Resident Council to serve as a strong partner in establishing Gwangju as a global leading city and a foreigner-friendly city.”