Breaking Down Barriers: The Struggles of‌ Immigrant Youth‌ in Korea

Unlike multicultural families where one⁤ parent is Korean ​and the other is a ⁤foreign national, various types of foreign⁤ families have recently appeared. Teenagers growing up in foreign families inherit their parents’⁣ nationality and​ are born and raised in Korea. They want to ​live in the familiar Korea, but Korean society’s hurdles are high no matter how hard they try. We ⁢examine the reality of ‌’immigrant youth’ who always choose the wrong answer due to limited choices and ​seek solutions.

Dana’s Story: A ​Palestinian Supporter‌ in Korea

Dana ⁢(pseudonym, 19) said she doesn’t watch the ⁣American ⁢cable channel CNN. As a Palestinian⁤ supporter, Dana could not help ‌but feel antipathy toward the broadcaster. CNN called Israelis “martyrs” and dryly referred to Palestinians as “dead.”

“Palestine is the victim,” Dana said, adding ⁣that Palestine is fighting for‌ independence. Just as Korean independence activists shot Japanese people during the Japanese ⁣colonial period, violence is inevitable for Palestine to escape Israel’s sphere of influence. Dana also brought ⁣up Taiwan’s⁣ colonial history to support Palestine’s choice.

The Language Barrier: A Major Hurdle for Immigrant Youth

‘Sihyejeok’ is a word that appears in high school social studies classes. You need to know its meaning ​to follow high school classes.‍ However, this word⁤ is not included in the 40,000-word ‘Basic Korean Vocabulary List’ of the National Institute of the Korean Language. This means that even if you⁢ don’t know the ⁣word ‘Sihyejeok’, a middle school 3rd year student⁢ can use Korean without difficulty in everyday life.

This is where ⁣everyday language and academic language ‌are clearly divided. In reality, Dana can speak everyday language fluently, but she is not fluent enough in academic language to keep up with high school studies.

Deviation from the Compulsory Education-Higher Education-Employment Process

Even if they perfect their everyday language skills, they confess that it takes time ⁣to teach ⁢the language they study. Park Sang-hee, a scholarship officer at the Incheon Office of Education’s Global Citizenship Education Division, explained, “Even if they go to school (after ⁤learning basic⁣ communication skills), it takes⁢ 6 to 7 years​ to perfect the Korean language necessary for studying.”

As a result, as the level of education rises, many ‍students are dropping out of⁤ school. According to data from the Ministry of ​Education and‍ the Korean Educational Development Institute, as of 2022, there will be 111,640‍ multicultural students in elementary school,​ 39,714 in middle school, ⁢and 16,744 in high school.

Urgent Need for Step-by-Step Educational Institutions

However, there​ is no doubt that there is a ⁣dire need for step-by-step educational institutions ‌for immigrant youth who need higher education.​ Current ‍Korean language classes are ⁣aimed at students who lack basic Korean communication skills or immigrant women. There are few places that explain the terminology needed for high school classes.

The Incheon Office of Education is noteworthy as a model case. The Incheon Office of Education is applying the ‍Korean language step-by-step‍ learning method to some elementary schools.

Teachers Need to be Placed in ‍Various Areas

There ‌are also voices saying that ‍an environment should be created in which children can ‍be⁤ individually taught in regular educational institutions. The government’s position is that as the number of students decreases, the number of⁣ teachers will remain the same.

On the other ⁣hand, Superintendent Park Sang-hee said that ⁤the number of students should be increased in ⁤order to hold onto each child ​and make⁤ them understand the lessons.

Incheon, where the number of ⁣immigrant youth is rapidly increasing, has many islands. As a result, students are scattered all over the place. Superintendent Park Sang-hee insisted that teachers should be assigned ‍to schools even if there are only one or two immigrant⁣ youth who need⁣ Korean language education.

While the⁤ local government in Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, provides educational support to students before and after entering public education, Nora (pseudonym, 20), who ‍lives in Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, hardly received any Korean language ​education benefits for students.

Nora, who ⁢barely spoke⁢ Korean⁣ during ⁤her school years, ‌started learning Korean at Rainbow School only after graduating from high school. Even then, the center is an hour away, making it difficult to ⁣access.

Park Sang-hee, ⁣the superintendent of the school, said, “Immigrant youth also want to study well in school and go to college,” and expressed concern, saying, “If these neglected youth decide to go abroad, it will ‌be a ‍loss for our country.”