Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Gov't unveils user-friendly guide to life in Korea for immigrants
A poster promoting a guide book written in simple Korean for immigrants on living in Korea / Courtesy of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
By Jung Da-hyun
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family unveiled a user-friendly guide to life in Korea for immigrants, Wednesday, underscoring its accessibility to individuals with basic Korean language skills.
This initiative aims to facilitate the integration of immigrants by providing essential information in a comprehensible manner.
The ministry is providing information for living in Korea in 12 diverse languages through the ministry's multicultural family support center Danuri's website and call center. These languages include Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, Mongolian, Russian, Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, Uzbek, Lao, Nepali and English.
The newly released guide is based on previously provided information, tailoring its content to be more accessible for immigrants beyond the 12 specified languages who possess basic Korean language proficiency, according to the ministry.
Comprising the top 10 most necessary topics for immigrants in Korea, the guide offers information on processes such as obtaining a certificate of alien registration, renting a home, utilizing banking or postal services, and activating and using a mobile phone.
While the guide is presented in Korean, the ministry emphasizes its focus on delivering information in a manner that enhances immigrants' understanding, aiming to spread useful information more effectively by overcoming language barriers.
Access to the guide is facilitated through the Danuri website, and physical copies will be distributed as brochures to a total of 231 family centers nationwide.
Furthermore, copies will be provided to pertinent agencies, including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, so that they can be distributed to immigration offices and community centers, which are frequently used by immigrants.
“In order to expand access to information, the ministry is striving to alleviate any difficulties that immigrants from various countries may encounter in obtaining essential information about life in Korea,” said Kim Sook-ja, the chief of the Family Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.