KJCKorea
Journal Central

The purpose of this study is to examine the future direction of communitybased public Korean language education by analyzing both the needs of learners and the operational realities of each institution, focusing on Korean language education at Support Facilities for Foreign Residents in Seoul. To this end, this study analyzed operational data from 14 institutions and the survey results of 193 Korean language learners. First, an examination of learner needs revealed that, while the composition of users and the distribution of needs varied depending on the type of institution, their needs regarding learning objectives and educational content were consistently centered on adapting to daily life and everyday communication; there was also a clear tendency toward achieving higher proficiency levels. Meanwhile, an analysis of the institutions’ operational practices revealed variations across the board—including semester scheduling, class hours, course offerings and proficiency levels, teaching materials, and assessment methods. In particular, the total annual class hours varied by a factor of approximately six, ranging from 56 to 360 hours depending on the institution, yet no clear common reference standard existed to unify these differences. These results indicate that this education needs to be operated in a way that reflects the characteristics of each institution’s users, while also establishing common standards shared among institutions and, based on those standards, moving toward strengthening education closely tied to daily life. This study is significant in that it expanded the relevant discussion to the community level by empirically analyzing the current state of communitybased public Korean language education and the needs of learners.

This study examines how Korean news media frame migrant workers and how these frames vary according to the political orientation of newspapers and over time. Using Structural Topic Modeling (STM), this study analyzes 8,079 newspaper articles on migrant workers published between 2016 and 2025 by major conservative and progressive newspapers in Korea. The analysis identifies 13 major topics: human rights, multicultural content, migrant domestic workers, occupational accidents, multicultural support programs, foreign workforce policy, anti-discrimination legislation, COVID-19, migrant families, seasonal migrant workers, crimes committed by foreigners, immigration policies in foreign countries, and low-fertility policies. The results indicate differences in topic prevalence according to the political orientation of newspapers. Progressive newspapers tended to place greater emphasis on human rights, multicultural content, occupational accidents, anti-discrimination legislation, and migrant families, whereas conservative newspapers more frequently focused on foreign workforce policy, seasonal migrant workers, immigration policies in foreign countries, low-fertility policies, COVID-19, and multicultural support programs. In addition, for some topics, differences in topic prevalence between conservative and progressive newspapers narrowed, widened, or shifted over time. These findings suggest that media frames of migrant workers are not fixed but constitute a complex discursive structure in which topics are selectively emphasized and reorganized according to the political orientation of newspapers and period-specific conditions.

This study examines the conditions and contexts under which local governments allocate their own fiscal resources to programs for immigrants who have limited political resources. Focusing on Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, from 2016 to 2021, it conducts an explanatory single-case study using statistics on foreign residents, project-level budget data, local council minutes, municipal and media materials, and interview with a local official. Findings show that Siheung’s industrial structure and the settlement of ethnic Koreans with foreign nationality created a local context in which policy demands related to foreign residents persisted, while locally funded programs addressed target groups and functions distinct from those covered by national and provincial programs. Budget expansion was concentrated in childcare subsidies for foreign children, reflecting the alignment of childcare needs with Siheung’s policy priorities on child welfare and care. Following substantial local spending, concerns also emerged over fiscal burdens and the need for cost sharing with higher levels of government. These findings suggest that local immigration policies should be understood not simply as responses to demographic demand, but as a policy decision-making process in which local governments select particular targets and functions and allocate limited resources differentially.