Gwangju City Supports Stable Settlement of Foreign Residents

Full-Scale Operation of Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center Begins on the 14th

Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kang Ki-jung) is making every effort to help foreign residents settle stably in the region.

Gwangju City announced on the 8th that it will open the Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center on the 14th and begin full-scale operations.

The Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center serves as a control tower for supporting foreign residents. Linked with the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s national subsidy project selected in January, the ‘Foreign Worker Regional Settlement Support Project,’ it invests 200 million KRW in national funds and 300 million KRW in local funds annually.

In particular, utilizing the former Gwangju Foreign Worker Support Center facility near Hanam Industrial Complex in Gwangsan-gu, a densely populated area of foreign residents, it provides support such as ▲ interpretation and translation ▲ stay and labor consultations ▲ Korean language education ▲ support for country-specific communities to help foreign residents settle in the region as healthy members of society.

Additionally, by collaborating with institutions such as the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office and the Gwangju Immigration Office, services previously provided separately by various organizations will be unified to offer a one-stop service.

Beyond the existing support for foreign workers by the Gwangju Foreign Worker Support Center, the plan is to provide integrated services covering all foreign residents, including international students, marriage immigrants, and foreign nationals of Korean descent.

The operation of the center will be entrusted to the Gwangju International Exchange Center, selected through a public contest in March, until 2026. Established in 1999, the Gwangju International Exchange Center carries out foreign resident support projects and cultural exchange programs for both foreigners and locals.

Gwangju City plans to enhance the professionalism of center operations by deploying experienced professionals and support foreign residents to become true members of the local community through tailored support by residence status and activation of both foreign and local communities using public-private networks.

Oh Young-geol, Director of the Women and Family Bureau, said, “We will help foreign residents adapt smoothly to the local community,” and added, “We will do our best to establish a foundation for social integration through various cultural exchange programs where native residents and immigrants participate together.”

Meanwhile, to expand policies for foreign residents, Gwangju City established the dedicated department ‘Foreign Residents Division’ in July last year, the first among special metropolitan cities, and is currently preparing a basic plan to develop a mid- to long-term roadmap for foreign resident policies at the local government level. With the launch of the Gwangju Foreign Resident Support Center, the core project of the 8th municipal administration’s foreign resident policy, Gwangju has firmly established its position as an ‘inclusive city.’

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