Despite a rapidly increasing inflow of migrants into Korean society, their children still face prejudice and discrimination because of the Korean people"s deep-rooted ideology of racial purity. The recent shooting rampage by a Korean immigrant at Virginia Tech highlights the need to address social indifference and discrimination against migrants and their children from the perspective of human rights.
On May 22, the NHRCK provided a venue to discuss human rights abuses and discrimination against children of migrant workers, international marriage couples, and North Korean defectors. The persons concerned and related working-level officers, experts, and government officials held a debate on discrimination and bias experienced by those children as a social minority.
The forum was titled "Human Rights Status of Migrant Children in 2007 (Centering on Actual Fields and Related Policies)." For discussion of the theme, Deputy Principal Gang-Ae Lee (International Mongolia School in Korea), Director Hyun-Sun Lee (Mindulae Support Center for Families of Migrants by Marriage in Jangsu, North Jeolla Province), Deputy Principal Myeong-Sook Cho (Yeomyung School) and migrant children gave vivid explanations of their situations. Professor Geon-Su Han (Department of Cultural Anthropology, Kangwon National University), Professor Woo-Young Lee (Graduate School of North Korean Studies, Kyungnam University), and Attorney-at-Law Hye-Jung Ryu (Horizon Law Group) engaged in debate on the relevant issues. In addition, officials from such government agencies as the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Unification, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare attended the forum to present opinions on policies related with migrant children.
The first Migrant Human Rights Forum discussed the "employment permit system", and the second was a "meeting of officers related to migrant human rights policies".
