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Status of youths aged 15 to 24 from multicultural families

One out of every five youths (15 to 24 years old) in multicultural families in South Korea are neither going to school nor working, a recent study shows. Such people are referred to as “NEETs,” an acronym for “not in education, employment or training.”

While the number of children in multicultural families has increased around eight-fold over the past 10 years, this suggests that many of them have been unable to fully adjust to South Korean society.

The South Korean government has decided to shift the focus of its multicultural family policies from helping marriage immigrants become established to supporting children in such families. As part of these efforts, it will double the current number of multicultural kindergartens and increase the number of preschools designed to help them adjust to school life.

On Mar. 9, the government‘s Multicultural Family Policy Commission held its 12th session, chaired by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn. During the session, the commission deliberated these and other programs aimed at helping the children of multicultural families.

“Ten years have passed since we created the first programs to help multicultural families become integrated into society in Apr. 2006. In the future, we will focus on developing programs to help children at each stage of development,” the government said.

The number of children in multicultural families has greatly increased over the past 10 years. In 2006, there were around 25,000 such children (18 years or younger). By last year, the number had increased to 208,000.

Of these children, 82,536 were attending elementary, middle or high school last year, accounting for 1.35% of the total student population. The percentage of elementary school students who are from multicultural families surpassed 2% for the first time.

The percentage of multicultural students who drop out of school was 1.01% (as of 2014), which was higher than the overall dropout percentage of 0.83%.

An analysis of the data collected by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for a 2012 fact-finding study on multicultural families around the country suggests that students dropped out of school because of financial problems, relationships with friends and teachers and poor Korean language skills.

The Ministry also said that, because a large percentage of such families include stepparents, these children are also likely to experience high levels of stress at home.

Significantly, 20.3% of the children in multicultural families between the ages of 15 and 24 (as of 2012) were NEETs.

When this is narrowed down to children who were being raised overseas when they immigrated to South Korea because, for example, one of their parents remarried, the percentage of NEETs rises to 32.9%.

As of 2014, the overall percentage of South Korean young people (between 15 and 24) who are NEETs was around 14.5%.

The government is planning to expand customized support for each developmental stage, from kindergarten to the job search.

To provide assistance to infants and toddlers, the government will increase the number of multicultural kindergartens from 30, the figure last year, to 60 this year. Multicultural kindergartens, which were operated last year on a trial basis, teach Korean language to multicultural children, along with the usual subjects.

The government will also be running the “well-rounded program” for school-age children. Starting this year, psychological counseling and career counseling will be available at 81 multicultural family support centers around the country.

In addition, immigration offices are working on a plan to notify city and provincial offices of education when young people immigrate to South Korea. The objective is to help these children stay in school.

When such children have trouble documenting their academic record, the government will also help them with the process of transferring and being admitted to school.

By Hwangbo Yon and Jeon Jeong-yun, staff reporters

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