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After being brought to Korea by his mother in 1998 at age 5, Kang remained for more than two decades as an undocumented immigrant. Later, he managed to gain legal residence in Korea on the condition that he work for five years in an area experiencing population decline. But just five months after his return, Kang died in an industrial accident in November 2024 while handling heavy equipment at his workplace in Gimje, North Jeolla Province. Nearly two years later, the question of whether his employer is criminally liable for his fatal accident at the age of 32 is still being reviewed by Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor. Kang’s story inspired the newly launched Kang Tae-wan Fellowship, which aims to provide emergency assistance to other immigrants, like Kang, who are frustrated in their dreams of making Korea their permanent home. Three young people have been named the fund’s first beneficiaries. After Kang’s death, the government extended the deadline for young migrants in Korea to receive residency status, but officials have dragged their feet in taking the next step of the initiative. And that delay is creating a host of headaches for those migrants. When paramedics took 24-year-old Marina to the hospital last month, the doctor diagnosed her with malnutrition and anemia. For over a year, Marina had gotten by on one meal a day. Koreans often comfort themselves with the thought that in such a highly developed country, people may struggle, but at least they don’t have to worry about starvation. But Marina couldn’t even keep food on the table. “Like any other teenage girl, I love K-pop idols. However, if you want to go to a concert, you need tickets. If you want to get tickets, you need to book tickets, which means you need to be a registered member of ticket sales platforms. But I don’t have the resident registration number you need to create an ID for those sites,” Marina said. “Every time I hit that wall, my mind started overflowing with depressing thoughts,” she said. submitted by /u/icaruswalks |
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