Seoul to establish multicultural communities

The Seoul City government said Monday it plans to set up multicultural communities as part of efforts to resolve social problems, including conflicts caused by cultural differences between Koreans and foreign residents, and to promote mutual harmony and co-existence.

The plan calls for the establishment of a total of 13 multicultural communities in areas with a large number of multicultural families, including Daelim 2-dong in Yeongdengpo-gu, southern Seoul.

About 7,700 Chinese, including Korean-Chinese, are living in Daelim 2-dong, according to city officials. The figure accounts for a half of total residents in the area.

As of 2012, about 400,000 foreigners lived in Daelim-dong, Garibong-dong, Gwanghi-dong and other areas in the capital. They constituted 4 percent of Seoul's population.

In 2030, foreign residents are expected to take up 10 percent of Seoul's population, the officials said.

Under the plan, the city administration will support multicultural families' activities such as meetings, cultural exchanges, village festivals and other events, they said.

A group of three foreigners or more living in Seoul can apply for the programs. Successful applicants will be given about 5 million won and free consulting service. Parties who want to apply for the programs are required to submit applications through www.seoulmaeul.org no later than 6 p.m. on May 14.

By Josephine Liu Yan Yee

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com