Gwangju Launches 'Saenghwal Ikkeumi' Program to Support Settlement of Foreign Residents

Composed of 10 Members
Accompanying and Interpreting at Public Offices, Banks, and More

Gwangju City held the launching ceremony of the "Gwangju Life Leader Volunteer Group," which supports foreign residents in settling down, on the 28th at the Gwangsan-gu Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center. Photo by Gwangju City

On the 28th, Gwangju City held an inauguration ceremony for the "Foreign Resident Gwangju Life Guide Volunteer Group" at the Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center in Gwangsan-gu.

The "Gwangju Life Guide Volunteer Group" consists of 10 foreign residents from six countries (Vietnam, Uzbekistan, India, Mongolia, Cambodia, China) who have lived in Gwangju for more than one year and are fluent in both Korean and a foreign language.

The ceremony included the presentation of appointment certificates to the volunteers and practical training on interpretation services. One of the main roles of the volunteers is to accompany foreign residents to public institutions and provide interpretation. This training session was led by Professor Park Jookyung of Honam University’s Department of English Language and Literature.

The volunteers will share their own experiences from when they first arrived in Korea and will serve as one-on-one mentors to help newly arrived foreign residents quickly adapt to the local community. In particular, they will accompany residents to institutions such as government offices, hospitals, and banks to help them overcome language barriers and resolve their issues.

Joo Sanghyun, Head of the Foreign Resident Division, said, “I am grateful to the volunteers who have offered to share their experiences of struggling to adapt when they first came to Korea,” and added, “If there are foreign residents who need the help of these volunteers, I hope they will not hesitate to apply at the Foreign Resident Support Center.”