The number of foreign residents in Korea continues to grow and now accounts for some 3.6 percent of the country’s population. This is part…
The number of foreign residents in Korea continues to grow and now accounts for some 3.6 percent of the country’s population. This is part of a series that examines how Korea is grappling with the issue of multiculturalism, as well as the challenges facing new arrivals. — Ed.
SEOUL — Pueong, 7, smaller than his peers, is an undocumented child living with his undocumented Vietnamese migrant parents in Gyeonggi Province.
“When I grow up I want to be a policeman and catch thieves. My favorite food is spaghetti and fruits like mandarin,” said Pueong, who attends Asiachang Day Nursery in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
At 36 months, Pueong was hospitalized twice for pneumonia caused by living in a moldy semibasement home. Uninsured, Pueong’s hospital bill came to 3 million won ($2,670). With his parents unable to shoulder the financial burden, Pueong was not able to receive follow-up treatments and suffered from malnutrition, stunting his physical development.
Still, Pueong is one of the fortunate undocumented children receiving education and care at a nursery, as most are off the grid and denied basic children’s rights to education, health care and protection from violence.
Some 20,000 undocumented children below the age of 18 live in Korea, according to estimates from the Justice Ministry.
“The biggest problem is that we do not know where the (undocumented) kids are because they are not tracked,” Jeanie Kim, a lawyer at Gamdong, an immigrant support and public interest center, told The Korea Herald.
“Of utmost priority is to allow birth registration for all children. The next step would be to legally ensure their basic rights to education, health, protection from domestic violence and detention, among others. While the concerned ministries — the Justice Ministry, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Education Ministry, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family– are busy passing on their responsibility to each other, children are left behind.”
Kim added that unless Korea implements universal birth registration, local authorities would not be able to prevent and resolve crimes involving undocumented children.
