Driving Lesson for Free

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Migrant women married to Koreans and living in Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong Province) will be granted an opportunity to try out for a driver's license, with the local government paying half the expense.

The province announced early this month that it would subsidize 50 percent of the total fee (about 400,000 won) for attaining a driver's license for marriage migrants in order to help them raise their chances of getting a job in Korea. Local governments have secured 48 million won for the measure.

According to 2008 data, 46 percent of rural households with migrant women were found to earn less than one to two million won per month on average. This has left some 65 percent the women wanting to get a job on their own to improve their standard of living. The driver's license project was launched as a result of this finding.

Under the latest measure, all multicultural family assistance centers within the province have set up classes for driver's licenses. With the additional help from related institutions, the class will be run by police while the local driver's license institute will cover the practical part.

The province expects about 120 applicants for this project. The officials plan to select, first and foremost, women with many children to feed or those who show strong will in getting a job or starting a business.

"It's still a tentative project," said one of the province officials. "We will decide whether to continue or not after this first year."

Those interested can inquire any multicultural family assistance center within Chungcheongbuk-do or simply call 043-280-4473. Registration is due by late February or early March at the latest, depending on which assistance center one contacts.

This information is lifted from Jasmin's Friendster bulletin.