Expansion of Customized Education 'Local Resource Linkage Project' for Migrant Background Youth

Gyeonggi Hwaseong-si, Siheung-si, and Gyeongnam Gimhae-si Selected as Target Areas

Government Seoul Office Building, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced on the 10th that it will promote the 'Local Resource Linkage Project,' which provides customized Korean language, career, and vocational education to migrant-background youth who face difficulties adapting to society after migrating to Korea.

The Local Resource Linkage Project is a program where local governments, youth-related organizations, and experts form a public-private-academic consultative body to investigate the status of youth services in the region, analyze demand, and provide specialized services tailored to migrant-background youth.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of migrant-background youth increased from 249,274 in 2019 to 269,598 in 2020.

Over the past two years, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conducted a pilot Local Resource Linkage Project in Ansan and Hwaseong cities in Gyeonggi Province, supporting 2,902 youths. In the second year, the number of beneficiaries increased by 190% compared to the previous year.

As support institutions switched to non-face-to-face classes due to the spread of COVID-19, migrant-background youth faced difficulties with food insecurity. In response, Hwaseong City collaborated with convenience stores and others to use them as meal providers. The city created the 'Hwaseong City Universal Card' to enable youths to purchase lunch boxes, supporting meals for 281 migrant-background youths last year.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to actively promote the Local Resource Linkage Project starting this year and gradually expand it beginning with local governments with large migrant populations.

This year, the target areas selected are Hwaseong City and Siheung City in Gyeonggi Province, and Gimhae City in Gyeongsangnam Province, which have high concentrations of migrants. The foreign resident ratios are 11.7% in Siheung, 7.2% in Hwaseong, and 5.4% in Gimhae. Customized programs will be operated reflecting local demand and characteristics, providing necessary services from early entry to employment and self-reliance.

Hwaseong City is divided into five zones to increase participants' access to services, analyzing support recipients and demand to operate various programs such as Korean language education, psychological and emotional support and counseling, case management, career and vocational experiences, and global citizenship education.

Siheung City will prioritize support for schools and local centers requiring Korean language education, and plans to provide learning support for entry into public education, counseling and psychological treatment fee support, and academic qualification acquisition, career, and college admission counseling (consulting) for out-of-school youth.

Gimhae City operates level-based Korean language classes and home-visit Korean language education in areas with a high concentration of Koryo-saram, such as Jinyeong-eup. It also runs learning support classes and qualification exam classes, provides visiting career and vocational education, and collaborates with education support offices and family centers to offer interpretation and translation support, psychological counseling, and assessments through specialized institutions.

Kim Kwon-young, Director of Youth Policy at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "The issues migrant-background youth face in education, labor, and welfare require a multidimensional approach, making it crucial to establish a linkage system among related institutions within the region. We will expand the local government-led Local Resource Linkage Project to help migrant-background youth settle stably in our society and grow healthily."