Multicultural School

[Anchor Lead]

A school providing Korean-language classes to children from multicultural families has opened in Korea. We’ll bring you a closer look in our next story.

[Pkg]

Students learn the Korean language in small groups. They are children from multicultural families who were born in China, Vietnam, Russia and other countries.

[Soundbite] Anastasia(Russia) : "(How long have you lived in Korea?) One month. (One month?) Yes."

Learning the language has been the biggest challenge for these children. They even had to give up on attending schools because of the language barrier. This school teaching Korean to children from international families has nine teachers who are fluent in foreign languages. The school uses textbooks with translations in four languages.

[Soundbite] Choi Jae-ho(Teacher, Seonil Middle School) : "The students spend one semester preparing for regular schools. They learn about life in Korea and adapt to the school environment."

Over the past year, the number of children from international families has surged more than 30 percent in Gyeonggi-do Province. About half of some 300 students who received education at 27 schools catering to children from multicultural backgrounds are now able to attend regular public schools.

[Soundbite] Kang Eun-yi(Ansan Migrant Children & Youth Center) : "We teach the children how to adapt to life in Korea. We believe that they must be able to receive public education."

Last year the number of school-age children from multicultural families in Korea reached 34,000. About 20,000 of them are estimated to be unable to receive public education.