Every year, many foreigners move to Korea, so the number of multicultural families keeps increasing. However, despite the increasing number of multicultural families, they are suffering from many types of discrimination in Korean society. Therefore, multicultural parents and children can’t easily adjust to life in Korea. A multicultural family counselor can solve these problems.
Role
Multicultural family counselors help foreigners who have a hard time in adjusting to life in Korea. In addition, multicultural families’ children are often discriminated against because their appearance is different from Korean children’s appearance. Counselors help members of multicultural families to solve problems related to language, education, and adjusting to Korean culture. Also, counselors help children to benefit from various kinds of education programs such as after school programs and mentoring programs.
How to Become a Multicultural Family Counselor
A multicultural family counselor needs a certificate. This certificate is approved by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training. Candidates can take an examination at institutions such as KQDA (Korea Qualification Development Association) and IAQA (International Authorization Qualification Association).
The examination is divided into two steps: the written examination and the practical examination. To pass the written examination, examinees have to get more than 40 in every subject and average more than 60 in all subjects. The KQDA written exam consists of 4 parts, including understanding multicultural families, theory of multicultural family management, counseling multicultural families, and understanding multiculturalism. After that, they can apply for the practical examination. In KQDA, before the practical examination, examinees have to take lessons in counseling skills and methods. After these lessons, they counsel multicultural families as the test. This is the last step for obtaining certification. However, some institutions replace the practical test with job training. Thus, candidates should make sure to check whether the institution replaces the test and the details of the test.
Prospects
The government and many groups are trying to help multicultural families. They want to employ multicultural family counselors in many fields. Thus, the demand for this job will continue to expand. In addition, schools and educational facilities that multicultural families’ children attend need counselors. Therefore, the future for multicultural family counselors is promising.
