Gov’t to overhaul services for multicultural familiesPosted in Articles, Asian Diaspora, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, Social Science on 2014-01-15 18:53Z by Steven |
Gov’t to overhaul services for multicultural families
Yonhap News Agency
Seoul, South Korea
2014-01-15
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) — The government plans to streamline its support system for multicultural families to help them integrate into society, officials said Wednesday.
The move comes as some existing services, including Korean-language education, have been redundant or failed to reach those in need who are in distant rural areas.
Under the plan, immigrants can learn the Korean language at local government-designated locations in their respective neighborhoods and earn incentives that would later be helpful when they apply for citizenship, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
Currently, only those who successfully finish a Korean-language course offered by the justice ministry are eligible for incentives such as exemption from a written test or an interview when they apply for naturalization.
The nation’s two call immigration centers — one for marriage immigrants and the other for foreign residents in general — will be integrated, so they can more effectively serve the foreign population, the ministry said…
…The envisioned new organization will offer various support for children raised by single parents, grandparents or North Korean defectors, as well as in multiracial families, the government said…
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