Born in Vietnam, Serving in Seoul

Pham Thi Quynh Hoa talks on the phone at her office at the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Multiculturalism Division, Monday. Pham, 33, is one of a handful of foreign-born employees who are lending their voices to policy-making for the increasing number of multiracial families in Korea. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

'Grateful to lend my small vocie to policymaking for multicultural households'

By Kim Ji-soo

Pham Thi Quynh Hoa, 33, is busy checking her computer, taking calls and meeting with lecturers at her office in Seoul City Hall.

Moving quietly and efficiently, the Vietnam-born manager of the Multiculturalism Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Government is proud to be making a small contribution to the diverse society Korea is growing into.

She has lived in Korea since 2005, after marrying her Korean husband. They have two daughters, 6 and 7 years old. Living in a different culture means constantly dealing with new things but the different notions about government service were the most noticeable for her.

“To be honest, everything about working in a government office was unfamiliar at first,” said Pham. “I have to say I take extra care when I am talking to citizens who either have questions or demands.”

She founds the citizens of Seoul to be more demanding than in Vietnam because people working in government jobs are well aware they are being paid with taxpayer’s money.

“In Vietnam, those in government have strong authority,” she said.

Pham majored in Korean language at Hanoi National University and is pursuing a master’s degree at Seoul National University. She still has a slight accent, however.

“Sometimes callers would catch my accent and say ‘Oh you don’t know this because you’re a foreigner.’ I tell them I will get back to them after finding out from the relevant division,” she said, explaining a difficulty she encounters.

She said she is grateful for the new experience to have her voice heard, however small.

Pham was teaching at a local college in Hanoi when she struck up “pen-pal” friendships with Koreans. Her “friends” pool dwindled until only one man remained, and they eventually married. After moving to Korea, she received a Korean government scholarship for a graduate program at Seoul National University in teaching Korean to foreign students. She is currently working to finish her master’s thesis.

That hasn’t stopped her from becoming more active and making her footprint in policymaking. She works part-time, in the mornings, from Monday through Thursday. She manages a program that sends 37 teachers from 34 nations to kindergartens through high schools to help raise awareness about different cultures. There are two other foreign-born, contract workers in her division.

“It’s rewarding to see so many schools apply the instant we open the online site,” Pham said.

That sense of reward has stirred in her a new goal of possibly working full time in policy-making for a more diverse Korea. She doesn’t necessarily see herself following the political track of Rep. Jasmine Lee, the Philippines-born ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker, but prefers policy-making.

The number of foreign civil servants in local government stood at 36 as of June 2012, according to the Ministry of Security and Public Administration. The capital city Seoul employed 13, Busan 6, Gyeonggi Province 5, North Gyeongsang Province 4, North Jeolla Province 2, Incheon 2 and one each in Daegu, Ulsan, South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island.

Nguyen Thi Bich Thao, 32, is another Vietnam-born civil servant who works for the Iksan city government in North Jeolla Province. Nguyen came to Korea after marrying her Korean husband in June 2006.

“At first, I encountered negative views about foreigners who married Korean men — that the marriage was for money and others — when I first came to Iksan. So, I didn’t even want to go outside or tell people that I am a foreigner,” Nguyen said in a telephone interview.

She decided to face that challenge by becoming more active in the community so started volunteering at police stations, then working at the multicultural center in her area.

In August 2011, she joined the Iksan city government to assist multicultural families, and provide translation and interpretation services.

“I want to play a bridge role as a ‘seonbae’ for others who are now adjusting to a new life in Korea,” Nguyen said. ‘Seonbae’ means a senior and Nguyen may well be a senior among the 1,500 foreign-born brides in Iksan.

In Seoul, Pham can renew her contract every year for up to five years. Currently on a resident visa, she plans to acquire Korean citizenship soon.

She spoke emphatically on two challenging aspects for her as a foreigner in Korea.

“First is going to the hospital. I think it’s extremely difficult for a foreigner to buy insurance. Seeking treatment at a hospital is also a difficult process because of the language, not to mention the cost,” Pham said.

“Second is the cost of housing. Housing is expensive for Koreans too, but for foreigners, understanding how the Korean realtors work and the different rental systems are high challenges,” she said. She believes the government could do more work on both issues.

Pham works in a multicultural division but thinks Korean society may well move beyond the “multicultural” phase in accepting diversity.

“I have two daughters. They were born here, they are being educated here. They are the same, yet by calling them children of a ‘multicultural’ family, it seems like you’re separating them in a small group, kind of differentiating,” Pham said.

“I hope people regard them as Koreans, born and raised in Korea.”