The government will increase efforts to support multicultural families created by immigrant marriages beginning next year. The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs announced plans on 30 October 2008. These plans will progress from next year and continue for the next two or three-years. According to the plan programs will be initiated to assist with marriage preparation immigration forms, childbirth, nurturing and teaching children, foreign spouse's economic independence, family separation, and for solving other issues concerning multicultural families.
The new law mandates that if a broker mediates an international marriage, he or she must offer exact information before the marriage. The ministry will also support not just the immigrant, but the family. The ministry will promote multicultural children so they can learn Korean. They will do this by creating linguistic programs at nursery schools. After that, the ministry will promote jobs in order to create financial independence for foreign spouses. Moreover, the ministry will make counselling centers for solving multicultural family difficulties.
In Korea, multicultural families have been increasing. However, we lack perspective on their lives and therefore they have been excluded from many policies. Because this the ministry's support is very welcomed. This is especially true of the ministry's support include for multicultural families on the whole. Until now, multicultural families were supported by regionally and not central government policy. Therefore, there needs to be more support and concern at all levels of government. People, who are living with a foreign spouse need to accepted and treated equally.
