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| Chang Yu-jin hands out Chinese language leaflets telling Chinese-speaking residents and business owners how to dispose of trash properly in a neighborhood in Gwangjin district, eastern Seoul. / Courtesy of Gwangjin-gu Office |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Gwangjin district, home to around 10,000 Chinese immigrants in eastern Seoul, hired its first Chinese-born civil servant last month.
Originally from Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China, Chang Yu-jin, 45, immigrated to Korea 20 years ago. The language barrier was not a big problem because she came from a Korean ethnic minority group ― commonly known as Joseonjok ― spread across northeastern China. But she was often discriminated against when her accent gave away her Chinese origins.
"Discrimination against Korean-Chinese immigrants was very bad when I first moved here," Chang said. "I didn't want to say a single word in public. When I had to, I used as little words as possible."
For the first six months, Chang served tables and worked on a factory line. Later, she found work at a duty free shop for Chinese tourists. The first three years were the hardest, she said, and she constantly had to remind herself that she could go back to China if things became too unbearable. In the end, she slowly adjusted to her new home and stayed, gaining Korean citizenship in 2002.
Chang's latest job was as a tour guide for Chinese visitors. The 2017 THAAD dispute, however, stemmed the flow of Chinese tourists, and left her out of work. Chang then studied for a business management diploma at Kyunghee University's Future Education Institute for Globalization. Here, she met a colleague who suggested she apply for a new position at Gwangjin district that required her background and Chinese skills.
Since Sept. 16, Chang has been assigned to a branch office at Jayang 4-dong, home to a Chinese neighborhood next to Konkuk University with a famous lamb skewer barbecue street.
Her first project is to advise Chinese restaurant owners and residents in the area about standard recycling measures they must follow when throwing out trash.
"The separating and sorting process done by individuals when throwing out the trash here is a foreign concept to most Chinese," she said.
Using tour agencies and real estate offices frequented by the Chinese residents, Chang has been handing out Chinese-language leaflets detailing how to separate recyclable material and food waste when throwing out trash, as well as the designated time and date to leave out trash bags for collection.
Kim Seon-gap, elected head of Gwangjin district office, said hiring a Chinese immigrant to the public servant post was necessary due to changing demographics.
"Our hiring a foreign-born civil servant is a fitting policy response to the fast-changing times and local characteristics," he said. "We can resolve any cause of conflict between the local and migrant population."
Chang will also act as interpreter for the increasing number of Han Chinese residents who do not speak Korean. She will also lead the district office's outreach programs for foreign residents who need help.
"I hope my work here will help foreign residents not feel alienated from the rest of the community," she said. "They also have the right to communicate, feel included, and get the help they need from authorities."
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