Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Seoul unveils "MY SEOUL+" platform for foreign residents
Seoul's foreign resident portal MY SEOUL+ / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Lee Kyung-min
Navigating bureaucracy in a foreign country can often feel like translating a map in the dark.
For the more than 400,000 foreign residents who call Seoul home — ranging from university students and tech professionals to marriage migrants and factory workers — the challenge has rarely been a lack of government services, but rather finding them hidden across fragmented public websites and buried beneath dense, bureaucratic Korean.
Hoping to eliminate those administrative barriers, the Seoul Metropolitan Government unveiled "MY SEOUL+" Tuesday.
The newly revamped Seoul foreign portal consolidates essential public services, real-time municipal updates and localized civic support into a single, user-friendly digital hub.
The overhaul reflects a broader policy shift in Korea, where demographic decline has driven local governments to transition from temporary foreign-worker policies to long-term integration strategies. With the nation’s foreign-resident population surpassing 2.8 million, municipal authorities increasingly view digital accessibility as a vital tool for social stability and economic retention.
Designed with a mobile-first framework that requires no separate app installation, "MY SEOUL+" marks a departure from the city’s previous informational portals, which functioned largely as static bulletin boards. The new platform categorizes vital relocation and living information — such as visa extensions, housing rights, health care access, childcare and job placement — into tailored workflows. Users can filter resources based on their specific status, whether they are international students seeking internships or long-term residents navigating tax declarations.
To address language barriers, the site features core services in Korean, English, Chinese and Vietnamese, alongside automated translation tools covering dozens of additional languages. A built-in artificial intelligence chatbot trained on municipal databases provides real-time answers to routine legal and administrative queries.
Crucially, the platform integrates map-based directories for regional community hubs, including the Seoul Global Center and specialized multicultural centers scattered across the capital. Residents can use the system to directly book language classes, schedule legal or labor counseling and reserve public community spaces without visiting local offices in person.
"We redesigned the portal entirely from the user's perspective so that no foreign resident misses out on necessary support simply because information was scattered or language proved to be a barrier," said Lee Hee-suk, head of the city's Multicultural Affairs Division. "Our goal is for 'MY SEOUL+' to serve as a reliable companion, guiding residents from their very first day in the city through long-term settlement."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.