Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Dongdaemun center plays major role in supporting multicultural families
Han Mi-young, second row center, executive director of the Dongdaemun Healthy Family and Multicultural Family Support Center, poses with employees and members of the center at the Government Complex Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province, after receiving the Prime Minister's Commendation award, May 20. Courtesy of the Dongdaemun Healthy Family and Multicultural Family Support Center
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji
The Dongdaemun Healthy Family and Multicultural Family Support Center in Seoul has been providing various support programs for multicultural families since 2006.
“When it was opened in 2005, there were only four employees, including me,” Han Mi-young, executive director of the center, told The Korea Times. “The center was originally established to support marriage migrant women who had difficulties settling in here, and it gradually began to cover the other needs of multicultural families.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the center has been running various programs online. Even during the pandemic, which limited many people's social activities, the center has not suspended operations, and that's why it has received positive reviews from users, Han said.
In recognition of this contribution, the center received one of the Prime Minister's Commendation awards on May 20, which is known as “Together Day,” created in Korea in 2007 to raise awareness about multiculturalism.
The commendation is given to institutions that contribute to supporting the settlement and social integration of residents of foreign nationality. Of 246 healthy family and multicultural family support centers nationwide, three received the award, including the Dongdaemun center.
Dongdaemun Office Head Yoo Deok-yeol, left, poses with members of multicultural families during the World Culture Festival hosted by the district office and the Dongdaemun Healthy Family and Multicultural Family Support Center, in this Nov. 9, 2019 photo. Courtesy of Dongdaemun District Office
“Our experience accumulated over the last 15 years helped us adopt the modified method of running programs online,” Han said.
Activists, instructors and volunteers associated with the center have provided non-face-to-face services and education programs to residents of foreign nationality.
As children didn't have fully in-person classes according to the social distancing guidelines and their parents also stayed home more, the center's staff regularly monitored the families to see if they had any conflicts or suffered from depression.
Group activities around culture and the arts, which have been running for more than a decade, also moved online.
Happy Echo, a choir group comprised of members of multicultural families, has been practicing singing via video chat every Friday.
“The choir participants say that singing together helps them relieve stress in their daily lives even if they cannot meet face-to-face,” Han said.
The group activities for middle and high school students from multicultural families, such as orchestras and theater activities, also switched online.
“When we go online, our members attend more often than before,” Han said.
A number of projects the Dongdaemun center started as pilot programs have spread throughout the country, such as interpretation and translation services, language development support and education via visiting homes.
“I feel rewarded that the center plays a central role in establishing the foundations for operating multicultural family support organizations across the country,” she said.
“But ultimately, there should be a way for everyone to participate in these programs related to family, regardless of whether they are multicultural or non-multicultural families.”