Community Resource Linkage Project Supporting Migrant Background Youth Expanded to 5 Local Governments

Two New Locations Selected: Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi and Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk
Including Existing Locations: Hwaseong and Siheung, Gyeonggi, and Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, Total 5 Sites

A, a child of a foreign single-parent family, entered the country at a young age and had no opportunity to experience Korean life and culture due to being left unattended at home because of the mother's work activities. Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, discovered A while promoting the regional resource linkage project in an area densely populated by foreigners, and through Korean language education and psychological and emotional support, A was able to attend school.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it will expand the ‘Regional Resource Linkage Project,’ which provides customized support such as Korean language education, subject learning support, career education, psychological and emotional support, and meal support to migrant-background youth struggling to adapt to the local community, to five local governments this year.

This project is led by local governments, which establish institutional grounds such as ordinances to support foreign residents and multicultural families or form ‘public-private-academic councils’ with youth-related organizations within the region to investigate the current status of youth services and provide specialized services based on demand analysis.

With the number of migrant-background youth increasing by about 80,000 over the past five years, this project was prepared to resolve overlapping services and blind spots among institutions supporting them in the community and to efficiently utilize local resources to support their entry into public education and adaptation to Korean society from the early stages of immigration.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of 2020, foreign residents numbered 2.15 million, accounting for 4.1% of the total population, and the number of children of foreign residents was estimated to be around 270,000.

Since last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has selected Hwaseong City and Siheung City in Gyeonggi Province, and Gimhae City in Gyeongnam Province, and has been actively conducting the project centered on public-private-academic councils, linking human and material resources among related organizations such as local children's centers, family centers, youth counseling and welfare centers, out-of-school youth support centers, education offices, schools, and foreigner welfare centers.

Hwaseong City operates programs tailored to the characteristics of the region centered on the foreigner welfare center, providing customized services such as Korean language and subject learning support, job experience, and global citizenship education to 5,529 migrant-background youth.

Siheung City, with active participation led by the local government, created a specialized space for migrant-background youth and established a GED preparation class centered on the foreigner welfare center, supporting 1,392 migrant-background youth, all of whom passed the exam.

Gimhae City, based on a regional status survey, divided the area into zones such as regions densely populated by Koryo-saram and foreigners and areas with high floating populations, and supported 1,420 migrant-background youth through customized admission briefings, medical expense support, and experiential activities centered on family centers.

This year, after conducting a demand survey targeting 65 local governments with more than 10,000 foreign residents, Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province and Jeonju City in Jeonbuk Province were newly selected.

Gimpo City plans to support migrant-background youth in entering and settling in public education by linking related organizations centered on the Foreign Resident Support Center, providing Korean language education, subject learning and career support, and social adaptation programs through family camps.

Jeonju City plans to design the project direction based on a survey of migrant-background youth status and developmental characteristics, led by the Multicultural Family Support Center. In cooperation with the Education Support Office, it will seek to have Korean language classes recognized as alternative education courses and provide psychological and emotional support through play and art therapy.

Lee Gi-soon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated, “Supporting migrant-background youth who face difficulties in academics and social adaptation due to language barriers and cultural differences in an era of low birth rates to grow healthily and settle in the community is meaningful for creating a sustainable future society.” He emphasized, “The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will continue to promote the Regional Resource Linkage Project, which discovers migrant-background youth in blind spots and eliminates regional service disparities by cooperating with youth-related organizations centered on local governments.”