The first port of call for assistance

Seoul Global Village Center heads (from left) Lau Yan at the Yeonnam center, Paul Hussey at the Itaewon-Hannam center and Cristina Confalonieri at the Yeoksam center. By Jung Geun-young

The Seoul Global Village Center was first established a year ago as Korea’s first government-sponsored community center for foreigners.

And slowly but surely, it is on course to becoming a place to turn to for many expats.

First launched in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo District, on Jan. 31 last year, there are now five field centers in Seoul.

The other four are in the Itaewon-Hannam area, Ichon, Seorae Village and Yeoksam. The government plans to open two more field centers this year.

At each field center, a staff of three - a foreign head and two Korean assistants - get between 100 and 300 calls a week asking for help about living in Seoul.

“The rewarding thing about this job is being able to be a bridge for Chinese people to adapt to Korean society and culture,” said Lau Yan, the head of the Global Village Center in Chinese-heavy Yeonnam-dong, in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.

Cristina Confalonieri, an Italian national who heads Yeoksam Global Village Center, and Paul Hussey, the Canadian head of Itaewon?Hannam Global Village Center, also participated in the interview. The three spoke in Korean throughout.

Lau, a former medical doctor in China, did not find the same helping hand when she came here six years ago after marrying a Korean.

She even had difficulty getting simple administrative documents issued. Her two daughters, who could not speak Korean at the time, were shunned by other children at school.

She learned that successful adaptation into Korean society takes more than overcoming the language barrier.

Without understanding the subtle differences between cultures, foreigners, even Chinese people who share many East Asian ways and etiquette with Koreans, could find living in Korea difficult, she said.

“A couple - a Korean husband and his Chinese wife - came to me one day. They had relationship trouble which originated simply from different views on table manners,” Lau said.

“The Chinese hold their rice bowls when they eat but many Koreans think this drives out blessings from the family. Problems like these can be resolved just by talking them over for a few minutes.”

Confalonieri also came here with a Korean spouse. She met her husband in Italy, where he had gone to study vocal music.

In Korea, she has become a celebrity since appearing on the popular KBS-TV show “Minyeodeuleui-suda (Chatting Beauties).” She has also published a book of her experiences in Korea.

This success has provided her with the opportunity to give back to Korean society.

She recently formed a volunteer group of around 60 expats who frequent the Yeoksam center. The group visits an orphanage once a month.

“I will try to make a center full of love,” Confalonieri said.

Hussey came to Korea for the first time in 2003. He also had a hard time settling in at first.

No one explained to him how to separate trash, as local law requires, or gave a helping hand when his car broke down.

But as he began to overcome the difficulties, he said, he saw what Korea had to offer. Now he calls himself an ambassador of Korea.

The Ichon Global Village Center, which serves mostly Japanese expats, is becoming a window for promoting Korean culture.

“Japanese housewives are very interested in education for their children and are willing to learn the Korean language and culture to help their children,” said Lee Hye-young, a Korean employee at the Ichon center.

According to Lee, the center gets five to six calls a day from Japanese nationals asking whether the center has any interesting cultural exchange programs.

The Yeonnam Center is getting an increasing number of calls inquiring about marriage counseling.

“We are hosting a clinic for married couples,” said Kwon So-jeong, an employee at the Yeonnam Center.

The Yeoksam center, located in the foreign business cluster in southern Seoul, receives a flurry of calls from expats hoping to get job visas.

The center in Seorae Village, a French community, and the center in Itaewon-Hannam, mostly get inquiries on general information about living in Korea, including how to get home Internet access and a mobile phone. About half of approximately 200 enquiries each of the centers receive each week are such calls.

It’s not only foreigners visiting the centers.

Some locals living nearby are going to the centers to learn foreign languages. The centers teach locals foreign languages for only 10,000 won a month.

Ju Min-young, a Junggok-dong resident, has become a regular at the Itaewon-Hannam Center since attending a fine arts class there.

“It is good to hang out with people from all over the world,” said Ju.

By Lim Ju-ree JoongAng Ilbo [joe@joongang.co.kr]