This file photo shows students taking class at the International Mongolia School in eastern Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is stepping up to help children from multicultural families to attend college.
The government held a committee session last week to decide upon relevant policies.
Last year, the number of children from multicultural families attending elementary, middle and high school surpassed the 160,000 milestone, setting a new record. Only 49.6 percent of them, however, are going to college.
In response, the government is designing a multidisciplinary policy to help them adjust to the school environment and advance their studies.
Next month, 78 family centers across the country will begin providing a new consulting service to help children from multicultural families build plans for future studies and careers.
A total of 90 family centers across the country will provide basic learning assistance programs for children from multicultural families that will or have just entered elementary schools.
Special homerooms for children returning from overseas who are in special need of assistance to learn the Korean language have expanded from 326 classrooms in 2019 to 404 last year. Additional classrooms will be added this year as well.
Teenagers from multicultural families struggling with adjusting to a school environment due to language and cultural barriers will be offered counseling programs for mental health.
Starting next month, 78 family centers across the country will begin offering one-on-one counseling sessions for psychological therapy and provide Chinese and Vietnamese interpretation services for children struggling with the Korean language.
With 8.2 percent of multicultural kids falling victim to school violence in South Korea, which is eight times higher than average, interpreters will be deployed to deal with cases of school violence against multicultural children.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
