Belgian Broadcaster Julian Becomes Honorary Tongjang of Yongsan-gu

Yongsan-gu Appoints Honorary Community Leaders for Foreign Residents... 30 Selected from 19 Countries Including Belgian Broadcaster Julian

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) held a ceremony to appoint honorary foreign resident community leaders at 2 p.m. on the 29th in the main conference room of the district office.

This was to help the continuously increasing foreign residents adapt well to Korean culture and support them to actively participate as members of society.

At the event, 30 people from 19 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa were appointed as honorary foreign resident community leaders, including Belgian broadcaster Julian Quintart (34, Seobinggo-dong) and Pakistani Zahid Hussain (32, Itaewon 1-dong).

Julian, appointed as the honorary community leader of Seobinggo-dong, said, "I have lived in Yongsan for a long time because I like it, but I was disappointed that there was no place for communication between the district office and foreigners until now. I am glad that such a system has been established, and I will work hard to widely share foreigner support programs and useful information and convey our stories to the district."

Last month, the district publicly recruited foreign residents who have lived in the respective neighborhoods for more than one year and can communicate in Korean. Recommendations were also received from neighborhood community centers and multicultural family support centers, which are institutions supporting foreign residents.

The honorary community leaders will serve as bridges and representatives between the district and foreign residents. Their term is two years, and they participate in the honorary foreign resident community leaders' meetings once a month.

They provide information on district policies and projects related to foreigner support and convey cooperation matters from foreign residents. They will also gather difficulties and various opinions experienced while living as foreign residents and work with the district to improve them.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, "The honorary foreign resident community leader system is the first step toward creating customized policies through communication between the district and foreign residents. Together with the honorary community leaders, we will make Yongsan a better place where foreign residents live harmoniously with local people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.