The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea has been rising steadily. (image: Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation)
CHEONGJU, June 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Multicultural families in North Chungcheong Province may no longer feel embarrassed when they receive newsletters from the schools their children attend.
A Vietnamese woman who came to South Korea 11 years ago through international marriage said, “I was perplexed when I received newsletters from my son’s school since it was written in Korean.”
She can talk in Korean to a certain degree but has not yet fully mastered the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
The North Chungcheong Province Office of Education took steps to address such difficulties facing multicultural families by translating school newsletters into multiple languages.
The International Institute of Education, which operates under the umbrella of the North Chungcheong Province Office of Education, published and distributed translated versions of school newsletters to schools throughout the province.
Translated versions of school newsletter. (image: International Institute of Education)
At the beginning, the institute published school newsletters on 11 different topics, including how to join the parents’ association and how to use the school milk program etc., in seven languages, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Mongolian, Cambodian and English.
More recently, the institute came up with translated versions on 10 more topics, including how to apply for school field experience programs, how to submit applications for school excursion programs and how to get a free flu vaccination.
For North Chungcheong Province, the number of students from multicultural families totals 5,626, including 4,110 elementary school students, 918 middle school students and 475 high school students.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
