Papaya Story-Total information service for English speakers living in Korea

18/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%EB%82%AF%EC%84%A4%EA%B3%A0-%ED%9E%98%EB%93%A0-%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%83%9D%ED%99%9C%ED%95%98%EC%A7%80%EB%A7%8C-%EB%82%98%EB%8A%94-%EB%B0%B0%EC%9B%8C%EC%95%BC-%ED%95%98%EA%B3%A0-%EB%98%90-%EB%8F%84%EC%A0%84%ED%95%B4%EC%95%BC-%ED%95%9C%EB%8B%A4

The following article is the content of the North Korean woman's adaptation to Korea at the 'Gunpo City Family Homecoming Day' held on November 5th. Ms. Lee Yu-ri, as a single mother, she is struggling to adjust to her life in Korea, but she still has hope. And we introduce it to you.

Hello. This is Yuri. I am currently attending the last semester of my 4th year of university. My hometown is North Korea, where I can only go in my dreams. After living in North Korea for 26 years, I went to China, where I lived for 4 years and gave birth to my current son.

While I was holding my breath every day because I did not have an ID (illegal stay), the public security (police) came to arrest me, but luckily I was able to save my life by hiding in a grassy mountain.

When I came down from the mountain, my skin was scratched and red blood was flowing. If the police come to catch me one more time, I can't run away to the mountains with my baby in my arms this time, so I decided to go to Korea with my 5-month-old son.

I have to learn, I have to learn

I arrived in Korea with my toddler son in 2017 and rode the subway, and that alone gave me the confidence that I could do it myself for the first time. After that, with the help of a friend close by, I got a job at a distribution center in Korea.

It was a box packing job, but I had to carry the heaviest boxes weighing 50 kg because I was not fluent in the language and a new at the job. I just did my best with a grateful heart.

On a very hot summer day, I worked in a place where there was no air conditioning and my clothes got wet, and when I entered the office, it was so cool that I didn't want to go outside. At that time, I saw a woman sitting comfortably in a chair and asking the advisor, “How can I be able to do something like that?”

The advisor said that I must have an accounting qualification. I realized then. If you learn, you can work in a cool place, and if you don't learn, you have to do only what you are told to do.

Based on my part-time job experience, I knew that learning was desperately needed. Without hesitation, I enrolled in a private nursing assistant academy at my own expense, studying in the morning, working part-time in the afternoon, and practicing on the weekend, and in 9 months I obtained a nursing assistant license.

Discrimination against North Korean defectors

After that, I entered university. My son was 4 when I was in first grade. When I was the first to knock on the door of the daycare center with a baby who couldn't open its eyes in the morning and the last to pick it up, as a mother, I felt really sorry and didn't want my son to see me tired.

I pretended to be okay and often acted like a strong woman. After classes at school, I attended volunteer work, part-time jobs, group assignments, and various programs held by the school.

The reason I ran so hard was because of discrimination and prejudice. When I was practicing as a nursing assistant, even if I misplaced just one instrument, the dentists said, “That person defected from North Korea. That's why I don't know what to do,” he kept whispering behind my back. While living in Korea, I experienced how painful discrimination is and what an invisible person is.

Having a hard time just because I was from North Korea, the bathroom was the most comfortable place for me. While receiving counseling, I realized that I was not the only one who was discriminated against, and that Koreans also had such experiences when they first entered the company.

Intense life...Where am I going

Since I came from North Korea during my college life, I honestly said I don’t know when I didn't know, and there were more professors and friends who were willing to help. I did not stop learning and used flex semester to acquire computer and accounting licenses necessary for social welfare.

As this life continued, I had no free time. I came to the free Republic of Korea, but there was no comfortable day as if I was spinning on a treadmill. When I was in my third year, I started thinking, “Why do I really live like this... Where am I trying to reach by run like this?”

The reason why I decided to study social worker was because I was fascinated by the warmth of social worker teachers after I arrived in Korea. I hadn't even heard of a welfare worker in North Korea, but I was really moved by the teachers who explained everything in an easy-to-understand way.

I feel anxious but I have strength

North Korean defectors are full of will and passion to do anything if they are entrusted with it. There are many people who have more potential than you think. I have worked hard to come this far, but I feel anxious because I will have to find a job after I graduate next year.

I have to earn enough to raise my son and have a stable life. Temporary support is very helpful when you are in a really difficult situation, but I think a stable job is the priority.

I want to become a counselor that North Korean defectors can talk to comfortably. In order to do that, I think you have to be more humble and have professional skills. Furthermore, I want to spread counseling to North Koreans who have never even heard of the word welfare after reunification, and heal each and every one of them.

And I want to say this to everyone I meet. “I can do anything if I have the will and desire to do it. Even if there is discrimination, I have the strength to overcome that discrimination.” Thank you.

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

17/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/work-info/view/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD-%EC%9D%B4%EB%AF%BC%EC%9D%98-%ED%86%B5%EB%A1%9C%EA%B0%80-%EB%90%A0-%E2%80%98%EB%B3%B4%EB%A0%B9%EC%8B%9C-%EC%A7%80%EC%97%AD%ED%8A%B9%ED%99%94%ED%98%95-%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%90-%EC%8B%9C%EB%B2%94%EC%82%AC%EC%97%85%E2%80%99-%EC%B0%B8%EC%97%AC%ED%95%B4%EC%9A%94

F-2 visa and a permanent residency #

Boryeong City is recruiting participants for the regionally specialized visa pilot project from November 21st to October 3rd next year. However, only 75 people are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. ^^;

The region-specific visa pilot project is a project that induces excellent foreigners to settle in the region in order to respond to the population decline in the community and revitalize the local economy. Boryeong City was selected as the target area for the project in September as a project contested by the Ministry of Justice.

The region-specific visa pilot project is expected to serve as a practical pathway for foreigners to become naturalized in Korea.

This is because if you are selected as a regionally specialized talent in 6 regions including Boryeong City, you can get an F-2 visa and get a permanent residency after 5 years. Therefore, the application requirements are strict.

^Somewhat demanding participation requirements^

Foreigners who wish to live and work in Boryeong through this project must meet the application qualifications such as education background, place of residence, employment, and basic knowledge.

In particular, you must meet the basic education background and residence requirements.

The academic background requirements are ▲Those who have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher in Chungcheongnam-do (those who are expected to graduate) ▲Those who have been recommended by the relevant school ▲Those who have not passed 2 years from graduation or are expected to graduate within 6 months from the date of graduation from the date of application.

The residence requirements are ▲real residents of Boryeong City as of the date of application ▲those who have promised to continue living in a designated depopulation area for more than 5 years.

Therefore, in order to participate in the regionally specialized visa pilot project in Boryeong, you must graduate from a university in Chungcheongnam-do, move to Boryeong, and confirm employment in Boryeong.

do I find a job?@

By the way, I can move to Boryeong City, but how do I get a job? Do not worry.

Boryeong City is currently looking for jobs that wants to hire foreigner. ‘Current status data of companies hoping to hire foreigners’ will be released on the Boryeong city website by December at the earliest, or by January next year at the latest.

After seeing this announcement, and get a job, you should move to Boryeong City, and apply for a business.

Of course, you can personally look for jobs in Boryeong City, but you need to be careful because you have to meet Boryeong City's manufacturing industry standards (10-34).

In order to participate, foreigners themselves must prepare application documents and visit the Boryeong City Youth Community Center to apply.

*What if I even moved but failed?*

Afterwards, the local government goes through a process to check if the requirements are met, recommends the applicant to the Ministry of Justice, and after a certain period of time, the relevant immigration office undergoes a visa issuance review.

What if I moved to Boryeong and got a job, but my visa was rejected? Don't worry about this either. The Ministry of Justice is said to be issuing visas to foreign talents recommended by the city of Boryeong only after confirming the requirements, such as crime.

Boryeong recommends 75 outstanding local talents, and foreigners from a specific country cannot exceed 50% of the allocated number.

Foreign residents who want to achieve their dreams in Korea should not miss this opportunity. By the way, the documents required for application are uploaded on the Papaya Story Talk Service, so download them.

Papaya Story

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

16/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%B8%EC%A3%BC%EB%AF%BC%EC%9D%98-%EC%B2%AB-%EC%9E%90%EB%8F%99%EC%B0%A8-%EA%B5%AC%EC%9E%85-%EB%AC%B4%EC%97%87%EC%9D%84-%EA%B3%A0%EB%A0%A4%ED%95%B4%EC%95%BC-%ED%95%A0%EA%B9%8C%EC%9A%94-%F0%9F%98%8A%F0%9F%98%81%F0%9F%98%98

“I am a foreign worker who has been in Korea for 3 years and has been receiving an annual salary of 25 million won. After living in Korea for a while, I thought of buying a car and going on a trip with my friends. So I'm looking for a used car. What should I consider before buying a car?”

Recently, foreign residents are buying used cars more and more. When purchasing a car, you can purchase it with cash or installments, but car installments often charge more interest than regular loans, so it's better to buy in cash if possible.

When you first buy a car, you only think about the purchase price, but you have to remember that a lot of money is spent on maintenance, such as ▲insurance ▲tax ▲fuel cost and ▲repair cost.

Nevertheless, if you think you need a car for a happier life in Korea, remember the following 3 things. These three tips were given by Kim Kyeong-Pil of Korea Money Training Lab.

1. Use only 5-7% of your monthly salary for car maintenance and transportation expenses

2. The price of the car that you will buy should be within the sum of your 5-6 months' salary.

3. For multicultural families, consider that if you buy a car in installments, your mortgage loan limit may be lowered when you buy a house in Korea later.

According to this advice, a foreign worker with an annual salary of 25 million won should purchase a car that is less than 12 million won. It's good to use around 100,000 won for car maintenance.

Especially, remember that every choice always comes with a price. If you spent money on buying a car, you need to reduce the money you send back to your home country or the cost of living in Korea.

Next week, we'll share with the experts the advice you need to buy a used car.

Papaya Story

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

15/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%97%90%EC%84%9C-%EC%84%B1%EA%B3%B5%EC%A0%81%EC%9D%B8-%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%B8%EA%B7%BC%EB%A1%9C%EC%9E%90%EB%A1%9C-%EC%9D%BC%ED%95%98%EB%8B%A4-%EA%B0%80%EC%A0%95%EC%9D%84-%EC%9D%B4%EB%A3%AC-%EB%8B%A4%EB%AC%B8%ED%99%94%EA%B0%80%EC%A1%B1

The following article is a presentation by HoSuJin from Vietnam on how to adapt to Korea by marriage immigrant women at the ‘Family Homecoming Day in Gunpo City’ held on November 5th. We introduce you to the life, happiness, and hope for the future of married immigrant women who had a hard time adjusting to life in Korea.

Hello. My name is HoSujin from Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.

I was born and raised in the poor countryside of Ho Chi Minh City. My family was struggling financially and had many brothers and sisters. I am the 8th of 10 siblings. Above me, I have 7 older sisters or brothers and 2 younger siblings.

Perhaps because I had many siblings, I was matured in early age, and I knew from a young age that our family was in a difficult situation. So I thought that I should study hard, succeed, and help my parents. For this reason, I dreamed of coming to Korea to earn money, and finally came to Korea as a foreign worker.

Visa conversion from E-9 to E-7

When I first came to Korea, it was very difficult because the weather and food were different from my hometown. It was also the first time I was living alone away from my family, so I missed my hometown and family so much.

Living alone in the faraway land of Korea and working the night shift, my heart and body were constantly sick with longing. However, I had a dream, and as I endured difficult times, I gradually got used to life in Korea.

As I got used to life in Korea little by little, I thought that I should use this time to study Korean because I work overtime at work and have time during the day. So I went to the Multicultural Family Support Center and studied Korean diligently.

Thanks to studying Korean hard, I got a good score in the TOPIK test and was able to change my visa to the E-7, a professional employment visa. Thanks to this visa, it is possible to stay longer in Korea.

Married But Other Difficulties

I didn't think about marriage for a while because I needed to earn money to support my family in Vietnam. Then one day, I went to a hair salon to get my hair done, and the head of the hair salon said he would introduce me to a good person. The person to introduce is an old regular customer of the director, and he was born in 1985, the same age as me. After a while, my husband contacted me to meet, and we met in the neighborhood, had dinner, and went to a coffee shop to talk more about each other. After our first date like this, we started dating on the premise of getting married, we fell for each other and we got married 6 months after we met.

Since I lived alone away from my family for a long time, I was very excited and happy to think that I would have a family in Korea. But after marriage, a different difficult thing happened.

Communication is an important issue

Since I am a foreigner, I am not good at Korean, so I think I did not understand what my husband and mother-in-law wanted. There were times when my mother-in-law disappointments of me because of misunderstandings and upsets between us. I tried to work hard in my own way, but it was different from Korean daughters-in-law, so I bumped into my family a lot. In particular, I often quarreled with my husband because we had different ideas about ‘raising children’ and ‘education methods’.

It is said that most multicultural families have many conflicts of opinion due to differences in language, customs, and parenting methods. This problem is not just a problem in our family, it is a problem for all multicultural families. So I thought I should study Korean harder. I am positive that if I become good at Korean, communication with my husband or mother-in-law will become smoother, and then we will understand each other more deeply, and difficult problems will be resolved one by one.

Happier Life in Korea

There were many ups and downs, but now my family is living happily with my husband, me, and two children. Sometimes I feel upset, but nevertheless, I am grateful that my husband and mother-in-law are always by my side and take care of my two precious children together.

My wish is that our home is always full of laughter and health. I hope you all are always healthy and happy.

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

14/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/work-info/view/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%97%90%EC%84%9C-%EC%83%89%EB%8B%A4%EB%A5%B8-%EC%82%AC%EC%97%85-%EC%95%84%EC%9D%B4%ED%85%9C%EC%9C%BC%EB%A1%9C-%EC%B0%BD%EC%97%85%ED%95%98%EA%B3%A0-%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%90-%EB%B0%9B%EC%95%84-%EC%A0%95%EC%B0%A9%ED%95%B4%EC%9A%94

As a result of the ‘2022 K-Startup Grand Challenge’, Germany’s ‘Koralo’ was selected as the best foreign start-up team this year. This event was held in Seoul from the 9th to the 11th of November.

Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in Korea, this event is a program that supports excellent foreign technology entrepreneurs to start a business and settle in Korea.

Its purpose is to increase the openness of Korea's startup ecosystem and equip it with global competitiveness through the influx of foreign talent into Korea.

The foreign team that wins in this competition is given the privilege of issuing a visa and participating in an internship, as well as a considerable amount of money.

Foreign residents should challenge too!

Looking back, I think foreign workers working in Korea and international students studying in Korea can also think about how to set up a business and settle in Korea.

What if you could connect the ideas you normally have as startup items and commercialize them?

And if you win a contest like the ‘K-Startup Grand Challenge’, you will be able to enter Korea with a visa and officially start your own business.

Competition process

The ‘K-Startup Grand Challenge’ first receives applications from the world. This year, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Hong Kong. A total of 2,653 teams from 122 countries, including Singapore and Southeast Asia, applied for participation, recording an all-time high of 52:1 competition.

After that, through screening and auditions, 51 startup teams to enter Korea in July were selected. 51 teams that entered Korea in August prepared for this competition by receiving training from domestic startup planners at the Startup Campus in Gyeonggi-do for 15 weeks. As a result, the top 30 teams were selected.

This year's competition results

Team Koralo from Germany took the first place in the honor of receiving a cash prize of $120,000 in this competition. The Coralo team announced a startup item called ‘Production of vegan fish substitutes’.

The second place to receive a cash prize of $70,000 went to Singapore's myFirst. My First Team introduced 'Children's Smart Device and Management Solution' on this Demo Day.

The Nao Now team from the United States took third place as an “online English learning platform that connects Korean students with American college students.”

The top 30 teams, including 10 teams that receive prize money, will receive an additional settling support of 12.25 million won for about 15 weeks. In addition, it plans to provide additional education, networking, and free office space for domestic start-up planners by the first half of next year to advance the business model.

Why don't foreign residents living in Korea materialize their business items and give it a try?

Papaya Story

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

11/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%EC%88%98%EB%8F%84%EA%B6%8C%EC%9D%98-%EB%B6%80%EB%8F%99%EC%82%B0-%EA%B7%9C%EC%A0%9C-%EB%8C%80%EA%B1%B0-%ED%92%80%EB%A0%B8%EB%8B%A4%EC%A3%BC%ED%83%9D-%EB%8B%B4%EB%B3%B4%EB%8C%80%EC%B6%9C-%EB%8D%94-%EB%A7%8E%EC%9D%B4-%EA%B0%80%EB%8A%A5

There is good news for multicultural families who own or are looking to buy a house.

The Korean government has lifted all restrcted areas nationwide except Seoul, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do; Seongnam (Bundang, Sujeong), Hanam, and Gwangmyeong from real estate regulated areas. An important implication of the deregulation is that more loans can be secured against a house.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the release of additional regulatory areas with the same content at the 3rd Real Estate Ministerial Meeting held on the 10th.

As a result, nine locations of Gyeonggi provinces, which were tied up as speculative overheated districts, were released. Suwon, Anyang, Ansan Danwon, Guri, Gunpo, Uiwang, Yongin Suji/Giheung, and D**gtan 2 are the targets.

In the areas subject to adjustment, 31 areas were released including, 22 locations in Gyeonggi-do, including Goyang, Namyangju, Gimpo, Uiwang, Ansan, and Gwanggyo districts; as well as the entire Incheon area (8 locations) and Sejong, were lifted.

Accordingly, all of Seoul and only Gwacheon, Seongnam (Bundang, Sujeong), Hanam, and Gwangmyeong remained as double regulation areas, including the speculative overheating district and the adjustment target area.

What does deregulation mean?

In Korea, as a government measure for areas where real estate prices are overheated, three regulations are in place: ‘speculation area’, ‘overheated speculation district’, and ‘region subject to adjustment’.

The regulation that receives the strongest sanctions is the speculation area, but the speculation area is only applicable to some areas such as Gangnam in Seoul.

The next most severe regulation is the overheated speculation district. In the overheated speculation district, the mortgage loan ratio (LTV) is applied, which sets the limit on the amount of loan that can be borrowed when buying a house. If the house price is less than 900 million won, you can get a 40% loan, and for a house over 900 million won, you can get a 20% loan. This means that it is very difficult to buy a house with a loan.

However, this is the principle, and exceptions apply to homeless people and single-homeowners. It is best to inquire with a real estate agent for more detailed mortgage loan ratios. Because it changes too often.

Even in the area subject to adjustment, 50% of mortgage loan ratio (LTV) of less than 900 million won of house price and 30% of over 900 million won of house price are applied.

In areas that have been completely lifted from these restrictions, you can borrow up to 90% of the house price to buy a house. Some small apartment complexes are 100% available. Are you surprised? Of course, it depends a little bit on what the developer who built the house and the financial institution negotiate.

Papaya Story

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

10/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%EC%A3%BC%ED%83%9D-%EC%A0%84%EC%84%B8-%EC%82%AC%EA%B8%B0-%EC%98%88%EB%B0%A9-%EC%9C%84%ED%95%B4-%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%B8%EC%9D%B4-%EC%96%B4%EB%94%94%EA%B9%8C%EC%A7%80-%ED%95%B4%EC%95%BC-%ED%95%98%EB%8B%88

Recently, the Michuhol-gu Family Center in Incheon announced that it had produced a guide to prevent damage to Jeonse fraud for foreigners in 8 languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Mongolian.

The guide introduces the things to check before and after the conclusion of the Jeonse contract and how to use the legal counseling service.

There are many things to do to prevent the damage of Jeonse fraud, and the terminology is a bit difficult. Still, I'll write it down because it's important to protect our property.

😗 Do you want foreigners to check this? 😗

What foreigners need to do before entering into a Jeonse contract is ▲Check whether the real estate agent’s office is properly registered, ▲Check the documents for the house to be rented (building ledger, certified copy of registration, tax payment certificate) ▲Check the beneficial owner if a certified copy of the house is registered.

However, these confirmations are not easy for even Koreans to do. Moreover, since most of the documents are in Korean, it is very difficult for foreigners to check them.

In fact, many Koreans do not check these details when making a Jeonse contract, and they usually trust the trade with real estate agents.

This is because, if a real estate broker does not properly check the above information and causes damage by brokering a transaction or not properly informing the contractor, it will be liable for legal responsibility.

Even if you trade through a trusted real estate agent, there is little risk of falling into a Jeonse fraud.

Tin can Jeonse with increasing damage recently

Nevertheless, the reason why Jeonse fraud occurs is that there are cases where real estate agents are involved in the fraud.

In particular, in the case of a new villa whose market price is difficult to understand, a scam has recently been occurring in Korea where the deposit is inflated and the deposit is not returned when the deposit is due.

The landlord who received a deposit of 120 million won for a house worth 100 million won does not return the deposit and tells them to just take the house. So it is important to know the price.

🤓 Jeonse Guarantee Insurance is a sure solution! 🤓

There are two sure ways to keep my Jeonse money in safe even after I have already signed a Jeonse contract.

It is important to go to the D**g Community Center first, get a fixed date and report the move in, and then sign up for the Jeonse Guarantee Insurance. Jeonse guarantee Insurance can be purchased from the Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation and the Korea Housing Finance Corporation.

Even if you are scammed, you can get your deposit back as long as you subscribe to the Jeonse Guarantee Insurance.

Anyway, to solve the curiosity of foreigners, the information on the prevention of charter fraud damage made by the Michuhol-gu Family Center will be released by in each language through the Papaya Story Talk service.

Papaya Story

10/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/immigration/view/%EB%B2%95%EB%AC%B4%EB%B6%80-%EB%AF%B8%EB%93%B1%EB%A1%9D-%EC%B2%B4%EB%A5%98-%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%B8-%EB%8C%80%EC%83%81-%ED%8A%B9%EB%B2%8C%EC%9E%90%EC%A7%84%EC%B6%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%A0%9C%EB%8F%84-%EC%8B%9C%ED%96%89

The Ministry of Justice announced that it will implement the ‘a special voluntary departure program for unregistered foreigners’, which exempts unregistered foreigners who voluntarily depart from the country from November 7 to February 28, 2023, exempting them from fines and suspending entry restrictions.

The Ministry of Justice implements the voluntary departure program for unregistered foreigners almost every year. It has been implemented again in almost six months since it was implemented earlier this year.

Although the number of voluntary departures has been increasing since the joint government crackdown on illegal aliens started on October 11, this system is being implemented in special consideration of the circumstances of foreigners who cannot return to their home countries because flight operations have not been normalized due to the influence of the corona virus.

The main contents of the ‘special voluntary departure program for unregistered foreigners’ are as follows.

◆ (Period) 2022. 11. 7. (Mon) - 2023. 2. 28.(Tue)

◆ (Target) All unregistered foreigners who voluntarily leave the country

-Excludes smuggled immigrants, forged passport users, criminal offenders, violators of infectious disease prevention and control rules, and non-compliance with departure orders

◆ (Benefit) Exemption from fines and suspension of entry restrictions in case of voluntary departure

The Ministry of Justice strongly recommends using this system to voluntarily leave the country because, as unregistered foreigners who are caught not leaving the country voluntarily during the above period will be fined up to 30 million won and strengthened the entry ban.

However, one thing to note for unregistered foreigners who voluntarily depart from the country under this system is that the suspension of entry ban does not guarantee entry into Korea after departure.

If you want to enter Korea after leaving the country, you still have to go through visa screening, and even if it is a legitimate and normal visa application, there is a possibility that it will be rejected at the discretion of the Korean embassy.

Papaya Story

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스

09/11/2022

https://papayastory.com/life-info/view/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD-%EC%83%9D%ED%99%9C-11%EB%85%84-%EB%8F%99%EC%95%88-%EC%A0%81%EC%9D%91%ED%95%98%EB%8A%90%EB%9D%BC-%E2%80%98%EC%95%A0%EC%8D%BC%EB%8B%A4-%EA%B3%A0%EC%83%9D%ED%96%88%EB%8B%A4%E2%80%99

The following article is the content of how Ms. Park Mi-hyang, a Chinese native, announced her story of adjusting to Korea for a married immigrant woman at the ‘Gunpo Family Homecoming Day’ held on November 5th. I introduce to you in an essay that clearly shows the life, happiness, and hope for the future of a married immigrant woman who had a hard time adjusting to her life in Korea.

China, Japan, Korea

My name is Mihyang Park and I am from Shenyang, China. I have been in Korea for 11 years and is entering the 10th year of marriage. I am a Korean-Chinese ethnic minority in China. From a young age, I attended Korean-Chinese elementary, middle, and high schools. The university graduated from a school in Shandong Province.

I majored in Japanese in college and went to study in Japan right after graduation. I majored in Japanese at a Japanese graduate school. After studying at university in Japan for 4 years, I worked several part-time jobs and paid for living expenses, tuition, and studying abroad by myself. It was hard, but it was really fun and it was the period where I grew the most.

Meeting with my husband

In 2011, I contacted my current husband by e-mail through a friend in China. In May 2011, I met my husband, who first came to Japan for sightseeing in Nagoya. We toured together like friends for 3 nights and 4 days. I fell in love at first sight because my husband was so comfortable back then. The day my husband went to Korea, I cried a lot because I was so sad.

After that, my husband and I started a long-distance relationship while traveling back and forth between Korea and Japan. Then I was really happy.

But there was no one to bless me and my husband. My husband's situation, such as education and wealth, was not very good. I felt comfortable and happy when my husband was with me no matter the conditions. So, after 6 months of dating, I gave up my life in Japan and came to Korea.

During the nine years of marriage, my husband graduated from university while working for a company, and his salary continued to rise. We now have a home and have a healthy and a beautiful son.

Life in Korea

I learned Korean in China from a young age, so I thought that life in Korea would not be difficult. But actually experiencing for myself, it was not at all. It took a long time and was difficult to adapt to because the language and culture were so different.

First of all, I felt the language barrier. I have been exposed to Korean since I was a child, but since I did not use Korean in my daily life, I was very poor at accent, language selection, and expression. Since I lived in Japan right away, when I tried to speak, Japanese or Chinese came out of my mouth first. Occasionally, Koreans asked me if I came from Japan or North Korea. I was shy every time I spoke Korean, but once I saw people, I tried to keep talking, and I studied Korean while watching the news. As a result, my Korean gradually improved.

Emptiness and Regret

In November of last year, I quit the company I had worked for 9 years and took a one-year leave of absence. After taking a year off, looking back on the past 11 years of my life, I was left with regret and emptiness. It was just that there was no dream for me. Now I'm trying to get to know who I am and I'm starting to look for things I really want to do. At this time last year, I didn't have any dreams. A year has passed and now I have 5 dreams. When I think of this new dream, I feel so happy and my heart races.

My 5 dreams

Due to Corona, I started hiking with my son from the end of last year. Since last year, I have climbed 27 times in total so far. It's really fun and happy to chat with my son while hiking while feeling the changes in the mountains in the four seasons of the year. Even when I become a grandmother, I promised my son that I would climb 100 times 1000 times. Hiking has become a shared hobby and dream for me and my son.

When I go hiking or outing, I like to take pictures. I take a lot of pictures, so pictures are fun, and I feel really proud when pictures of my life come out. I want to buy a used camera next year and try to become a professional photographer. In the future, I want to make an album of precious memories by taking a lot of daily life of my son and my family.

Also, this year, I was introduced to psychology by participating in a play therapy activity at a daycare center. When I got into psychology, I found out that I had low self-esteem and was slightly depressed. So I started getting treatment and counseling for depression.

Couples counseling is also available. Through marital counseling, I came to know my husband's painful heart, and I also gained muscle in my heart, making my current married life better. I would like to become a counseling therapist for my family by studying psychology in the future.

I also like to write. In the future, I would like to write about the mountain climbing with my son, the process of becoming a photographer, and the process of becoming a psychological counselor. And my dream is to make my own book before I turn 60.

Two years ago, I studied coding on my own. After some coding, I want to make a site for my son. On that site, I want to record my son's growth with beautiful photos and writing.

“You did your best. You did well"

I have lived in Korea quite fiercely for 11 years. From now on, I want to live the rest of my life with a bit of leisure for my own happiness. And finally to myself I want to say, “Mihyang, you worked really hard to adapt to life in Korea, you did your best. You did well”. For the rest of my life, I will try to live my small dreams one by one and live happily.

Thank you

외국인주민을 위한 토탈정보플랫폼서비스