Selected for Overseas Koreans Agency Project... Secured Over 100 Million KRW in National Funding
Customized Counseling, Education, Broadcasting, and Clinics Operated by Region
The city of Gwangju announced on the 4th that its “Support Project for the Settlement of Koryoin Residents in Gwangju” has been selected for the “Regional Overseas Koreans Settlement Support Project” by the Overseas Koreans Agency, securing 114.5 million KRW in funding.
The city applied for the “Support Project for the Settlement of Koryoin Residents in Gwangju” to help Koryoin residents living in the region adapt quickly to the local community, and to promote stable living and the enhancement of their rights and interests.
The city plans to actively pursue various initiatives necessary for Koryoin residents to settle in Gwangju, including comprehensive counseling on employment, residency, and interpretation, Korean language education, operation of a senior welfare center, Koryo Broadcasting Media Center, Koryoin Gwangju Clinic, Youth Culture Center, and Youth Orchestra, as well as hosting the Koryoin Day event.
The Gwangju Koryoin Village began to form in the early 2000s when three to four Koryoin households settled in the Wolgok-dong area of Gwangsan-gu. Currently, about 5,000 people reside there, with most living around Wolgok-dong, Gwangsan-gu.
The city established the nation’s first “Koryoin Resident Support Ordinance,” providing legal and administrative grounds for support, and since 2014 has been operating a comprehensive counseling center and senior care center to support the settlement of Koryoin residents in Gwangju, as well as offering Korean language education and various other projects.
Joo Sanghyeon, head of the Foreign Resident Division, said, “We will strive to help Koryoin residents settle stably and become self-reliant in the local community, and to create conditions where they can live as members of the local community together with other residents.”
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