Eliminating Gaps in Public Education and Basic Livelihood for Youth in Crisis
Yeongam County, Jeollanam-do (Governor Woo Seunghee) announced on the 1st that, through the Yeongam-style integrated case management system, it has restored the rights of a Korean national to a multicultural family youth in crisis after 12 years.
Kim Nayoung (15, alias), a Korean youth who had lived in Vietnam for 13 years and entered Korea two years and seven months ago, completed her move-in registration as a Yeongam resident and officially became a county resident on the 19th.
Kim was born to a Korean father and a Vietnamese mother. When she was about three years old, her parents divorced, and she was sent to her mother's family in Vietnam. She completed her first year of middle school in Vietnam, and in 2022, at her mother's wish for her to grow up and be educated in a better environment, she returned to Korea.
Although Kim's registered address was in a local government area in Chungnam where her father lives, she actually lived with her mother in Yeongam County. This was because her father's health and financial situation were poor, and having grown up in Vietnamese culture, she was emotionally closer to her mother, who had custody.
The problem was that Kim was unable to communicate in Korean, leaving her outside the public education system, and together with her mother, who was facing financial difficulties, even basic living was at risk.
At the end of December last year, Yeongam County received a call from a welfare official in a basic local government in Chungnam, asking them to check if Kim was living in Yeongam. Upon learning that Kim was not actually residing at her registered address in Chungnam, the county was able to track down her whereabouts and situation after some inquiries.
Through the 8th popularly elected administration's integrated case management, which supports families in crisis, Yeongam County added Kim to the list of integrated case management recipients, as she was in the blind spot of public education and welfare. Furthermore, based on the needs of Kim and her mother, the county intervened to ensure they could benefit from basic social rights such as the "right to education" and "right to social security benefits."
Yeongam County, in consultation with the Yeongam Office of Education and others, helped Kim receive recognition for her elementary school education and enroll in the first year of middle school in March. Kim is currently attending a middle school in Yeongam. Although she still communicates with her homeroom teacher using an online translator, she is working hard within the framework of Korean public education, including learning Korean.
The county also provided economic support to Kim, delivering the first round of emergency living expenses in February, and is supporting her basic living needs, such as side dishes, by connecting her to local welfare resources. Recently, the county also secured 3 million won in housing support by applying to ChildFund Korea.
Furthermore, to fulfill Kim's wish to live with her mother, the county plans to help her apply for basic livelihood security benefits, secure living expenses, and move to a new residence, supporting her to live as a Korean national.
Governor Woo Seunghee stated, "In February, Yeongam-style integrated case management enabled us to welcome a very special resident," and added, "We will work with the local community to ensure that Kim can confidently enjoy her rights and grow up healthy as a Yeongam resident and as a Korean."
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