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Ministry to run 30 kindergartens for multiracial children

March 17, 2015

The Ministry of Education will run 30 kindergartens nationwide specifically for children from multiracial families. (NEWSis)

By Jung Min-ho

The Ministry of Education said Tuesday that it will run 30 kindergartens nationwide specifically for children from multiracial families.

The ministry will select six kindergartens each from Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, South Gyeongsang Provinces and Seoul – which will receive 7 million won ($6,200) this year for making programs dedicated to multiracial children.

The selected kindergartens won’t be required to teach multiracial children only, but they have to develop and run additional programs that can help them develop their Korean language skills and social identity.

“There are multiracial children that are struggling with language problems in ordinary kindergartens,” a ministry official said. “After the test operation this year, we will discuss whether to increase support for the program.”

The ministry said there are 121,000 preschool students from multiracial families in Korea. As that number grows, such programs are expected to expand to elementary, middle and high schools.

Already, the ministry runs 80 education institutes where multiracial students can learn the Korean language and culture for six months before starting their education in ordinary schools. The ministry said it will increase the number to 100 this year.

Also, there are 150 ministry-appointed schools that run programs to raise awareness for multiculturalism with their students.