During the last half a century, the Republic of Korea has undergone tremendous changes, Emerging from the ashes of the Korean War to the world’s 12th largest economy. Thanks to its open-door policy, Korea has more than 40 million people crossing the border every year and over 1.4 million foreign residents.
To meet the changing environment, Korea government is making multi-faceted efforts as a government agency primarily responsible for immigration policy to make Korea one of the mature, advanced countries in the world.
To that end, Korea government enacted Basic Act on Treatment of Foreigners Residing in Korea to consolidate the policy foundation towards an open society. By pursuing ‘proactive opening’, ‘quality social integration’ and ‘human rights protection for foreigners and customer-centric policy implementation’, Korea government is creating a mature social environment where Korean nationals and foreigners can harmoniously lead their life together. Korea government is proactively inviting global talents and foreign investors from all around the world to enhance country’s competitive edge.
Korea government has also been actively supporting marriage migrants, international students, migrant workers, ethnic Koreans with foreign nationalities and other foreign residents to have an equal life to Korean citizens based on regulations and mutual trust. Korea government will take the lead in opening up a brighter future and elevating national standing on a global stage by upholding national interests and human rights in a harmonious way with the joint efforts of Korean citizens and foreign residents.
The immigration policy is a new topic in the Korean society. Many are flowing into Korea with dreams of happiness and opportunities like the American dream with which people traversed the continent millions of years ago. Immigration will help grow and prosper the country and make the society more dynamic. Immigration is no longer an option but a must to promote major national interest in this 21st century. It is highly required to come up with a new immigration policy and system that meets the new demand for the new era to maximize advantages and reduce the burdens from immigration
Finally, This work is published on the responsibility of the author. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the government. I especially wish to express my gratitude to my daughter, as a Translator Kim, Eun-Jeung, who continuously encouraged me to complete my study, provided me with valuable comments and suggestions for this work and inspired me to greater critical thinking. Without her help, I could not have completed this journey to completing this work. I am also grateful to Chosun University professor Matthew Mc Laugh Lin, who taught me research methods and guided me along the right track of writing a thesis.
May. 2012
Kim, Won-Sook
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