Seoul Metropolitan Government employees will start visiting foreign communities every Sunday throughout the year to help foreign residents solve their problems, starting with the Community Service Center in Gwanghui-dong, which is home to a large community of immigrants, particularly from Russia and Mongolia.
 

The Door-to-Door Consultation program is part of the Field-Oriented Customized Total Service for Foreigners Living in Seoul, which the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been providing since 2009 in order to solve the problems of foreign labor workers, foreign students, and multicultural families who live in Seoul but don’t have the time to visit the Seoul Global Center in person during weekdays.

Starting from March this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will send counselors to festivals and cultural event venues as well as gathering places popular among foreign residents after assessing their needs, with the aim of overcoming the geographical and time limitations of foreigners requiring help.

Also from this year, the Government will begin providing financial (management) and communication services in addition to the current insurance package, which normally covers labor, on-the-job injuries, national pension, Migrant Workers Insurance (Departure Guarantee, Return Cost, Accident, Unpaid Wage), and medical diagnosis.

The Government has also expanded its pool of professionals to include certified labor lawyers, attorneys, certified public accountants, and National Pension Service employees. Professional consulting services on labor, employment, law, tax, consumer and National Pension issues are offered every week.

As for oriental medical services such as pulse reading, acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping, which were very popular among foreigners last year even though the program was only launched a year ago, the Government will enhance the program to include medical diagnosis, blood sugar check-ups, and blood pressure tests by supplying more medical devices, as well as providing oriental medical prescriptions and herbal medicines. Medical charts and pharmaceutical containers will also be available in the respective languages.

The on-campus counseling service for foreign students will restart twice during the back-to-college season in March.

The counselors will visit colleges in a special bus to offer counseling services to foreign students and provide real answers to their questions, covering eight main topics including Seoul Tours, Shopping, IT, Consumer, Immigration, Housing Rental, Information on Studying Abroad, and Job Info.

For further information on counseling sessions for organizations and communities, please call the Foreign Residents Assistance Division (+82-2-2075-4107) or visit the Seoul Global Center’s website (http://global.seoul.go.kr ).



Government press release (january 31, 2012)