Customized Support for Multicultural Children and Adolescents... Government Announces 4th Basic Plan

Deliberation and Resolution of the 4th Basic Plan for Multicultural Policy
Initiation of Survey on the Scale and Actual Conditions of Youth Aged 19 and Over

The government is promoting measures to identify the scale and status of multicultural youth aged 19 and over and to provide tailored services for them. It will also strengthen support for multicultural youth who have experienced school violence (school bullying).

On the afternoon of the 27th, the government held the 21st Multicultural Family Policy Committee meeting at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, where it deliberated and approved the "4th Basic Plan for Multicultural Policy" containing these measures.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook is attending the 21st Multicultural Family Policy Committee held at the Government Seoul Office on the afternoon of the 27th.
[Photo by Ministry of Gender Equality and Family]

This basic plan, which will be applied from this year until 2027, focuses on the need to gather statistics on adult children, as the number of multicultural family children has increased to 290,000 and shows an upward trend.

The government plans to consult with Statistics Korea this year to collect statistics on multicultural late adolescents (aged 19?24) by age group, and then confirm policy demands through the "National Multicultural Family Survey" to be conducted next year, reviewing specific support measures.

For multicultural late adolescents in need of support, a customized support system will be established linking family centers with related institutions that provide services such as counseling, vocational training, and employment support.

Additionally, psychological counseling support systems will be strengthened through schools and education support offices so that multicultural children and adolescents can share concerns about school admission and career paths, and teachers' multicultural education capabilities will be enhanced through teacher training.

When responding to school violence cases, multicultural counselors and interpreters/translators will participate to ensure multicultural students have opportunities to testify, and counseling, protection, and self-sufficiency support will be provided through youth counseling and welfare centers.

The government will also conduct research and surveys to identify the status of domestic violence within multicultural families in connection with the "2024 National Multicultural Family Survey."

Measures will be prepared to enhance the self-reliance and employment capabilities of marriage immigrants so that they can actively participate in economic activities in Korea.

Customized vocational education and training programs for marriage immigrants will be provided, and linkage services will be offered so that farm helpers can temporarily take over farming duties when female farmers who are pregnant or have given birth need to temporarily stop working.

Furthermore, this basic plan includes measures to increase Korean society's "multicultural acceptance" and expand the social participation of multicultural families to create a society that grows together with multicultural families.

Looking at the multicultural acceptance scores of Korean adults, it was 52.81 points in the 2018 National Multicultural Family Survey but dropped to 52.27 points in 2021.

In addition, the plan includes strengthening cooperation and linkage between government committees related to multicultural family policies, such as the Multicultural Family Policy Committee and the Foreigners Policy Committee, as well as establishing cooperative systems between central and local governments.

Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said, "Families, society, and the nation must join forces to ensure that multicultural children and adolescents can grow up healthily," adding, "We will strengthen support so that they can have fair opportunities in academics and careers and fully demonstrate their capabilities."

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