Expats satisfied with support centers: survey

Foreign residents in the capital are “very satisfied” with services of public support facilities, a survey showed.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s survey that included 760 foreigners from October to November, the satisfaction rate stood at 4.56 out of 5 points.
The surveyed queried participants on three parts: accessibility and cleanness of the facility; hospitality and expertise of center employees; and contents of programs.
The support centers received the highest score in daily support with 4.59 points, followed by business support and work-related support with 4.54 points and 4.52 points, respectively. Daily living support covers general counseling, language education and help overcoming cultural differences, officials said.
Among the facility users, Chinese users made up the biggest group, with 21.2 percent, followed by Chinese with Korean ancestry with 12.5 percent and Southeast Asians with 11.4 percent.
Chinese and Chinese with Korean ancestry tended to look for help related to work the most, while Japanese, Europeans and Americans sought daily living support, they added.
The city currently runs 19 foreign support centers across the city. It also jointly runs 24 similar organizations with the Gender Equality Ministry in the city. (rene@heraldcorp.com)