A Global Village in Cheongdo
Where People from Around the World Live and Thrive Together
Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, is mobilizing all available resources to help marriage immigrant women and foreign workers, who are important parts of the local community, settle in the area.
On the 15th, Cheongdo-gun announced that it successfully held a performance sharing meeting for the ‘Foreigners’ Local Community Exchange and Settlement Program,’ which has been promoted over the past year with the participation of about 50 foreign students, in collaboration with Yeungnam University’s Multicultural Education Research Institute (Director Jeong Yonggyo), the entrusted institution for the program.
Cheongdo-gun, Foreigners' Community Exchange and Settlement Program Achievement Sharing Seminar. [Photo by Cheongdo-gun]
Previously, the Department of Sociology and the Multicultural Education Research Institute of Yeungnam University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Geumcheon-myeon, Cheongdo-gun on May 21 last year for mutual regional development.
Additionally, on October 26 last year, the Multicultural Education Research Institute of Yeungnam University participated in the ‘Let’s Play Together, Whole Family! Care Festa’ held at the Cheongdo Outdoor Performance Hall, operating the ‘Global Store’ and ‘World Culture Experience Booth’ where visitors could experience foods and cultures from various countries such as Vietnam, Turkey, and India to promote multicultural understanding in the local community.
All proceeds of 500,000 won earned through the booth operation were donated to the Cheongdo-gun Talent Development Scholarship Fund, contributing to nurturing local talents.
The ‘Foreigners’ Local Community Exchange and Settlement Program’ was promoted as part of Cheongdo-gun’s 2024 Local Extinction Response Fund project, aiming for a global Cheongdo where rural communities and international students coexist symbiotically.
Key achievements include ▲‘Global Sarangbang,’ where international students cooked traditional Vietnamese food and served it as lunch to the elderly of Imdang 1-ri, Geumcheon-myeon, fostering deep understanding and communication about each other’s cultures and languages ▲‘Global Tour Guide,’ which trained foreign student participants as tour guides for foreigners visiting Cheongdo to encourage revisits to the area ▲and ‘We are the one Cheongdo World Music Concert,’ a festival where international students performed songs from their home countries and Korea at Seopmari Recreation Village in Geumcheon-myeon, creating a joyful event for Cheongdo residents and immigrants alike. The seminar provided a meaningful opportunity to share these achievements.
One foreign student who participated in the presentation said, “Cheongdo residents are very kind, warm, and inclusive toward foreigners, and they kindly helped international students adapt comfortably to rural life, which left a lasting impression,” creating a warm atmosphere at the event.
Kim Hasu, the mayor of Cheongdo-gun, stated, “Through this Foreigners’ Local Community Exchange and Settlement Program, international students had the opportunity to experience and share Cheongdo’s culture and history, bringing new vitality as members of the local community. We will continue to promote various support policies so that foreigners can settle and adapt stably as members of the community.”
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