From the GIRC: The GIRC’s One-Stop Counseling Day – Where International Residents Get Real Answers

By Kim Minsu ||

Since May 2024, the Gwangju International Residents Center (GIRC) has held its One-Stop Counseling Day on the second Sunday of every month, bringing together specialists in law, tax, labor, public safety, and health with whom international residents can address several concerns in a single visit rather than having to navigate to multiple institutions on their own. The Sunday sessions take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the GIRC building in Gwangsan-gu.

The need for this kind of consolidated support continues to grow, and the launch of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City on July 1 adds a new dimension to that need. Gwangju is currently home to 34,992 registered foreign residents, while Jeonnam has 70,363 (excluding naturalized Korean citizens) – a combined population of over 100,000 that now falls under a single administrative city. With the Jeonnam and Gwangju regions unified, residents who previously lived just outside of Gwangju’s city limits may find it easier to access programs like One-Stop Counseling Day, and demand for the service is likely to expand accordingly in the months ahead.

Each counseling session brings together a distinct set of specialists, and what makes the program valuable is not just the number of people it reaches but the specific, practical nature of what each expert offers. A certified administrative agent advises international residents on visa changes and residency-related matters, helping them complete the official procedures needed to change or maintain their status through proper channels – consistently the most popular consultation of the day. Attorneys from the Migrant Legal Support Team of the Gwangju District Bar Association provide consultations on a wide range of legal matters, from contracts and disputes to broader questions about rights and legal protections. Tax accountants assist with year-end tax settlement and comprehensive income tax filing, walking participants through paperwork that is often confusing even for Korean nationals, let alone someone navigating it in a second language. Over the program’s history, this tax counseling has resulted in numerous successful refund cases, returning meaningful sums of money to international residents who might otherwise never have known they were eligible.

Public safety and workplace concerns are also addressed directly. Officers from the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency provide guidance on traffic accidents and other public safety matters, helping residents understand what to do and who to contact when an incident occurs, and also offer practical legal education on everyday legal issues that residents commonly encounter in daily life. An official from the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service handles industrial accident claims, a service that has proven especially important for workers who are unfamiliar with how to file a claim after a workplace injury or illness and who might otherwise go without the compensation they are entitled to. They also handle visa change and administrative document preparation.

Health services round out the day with a similarly practical focus. Dentists from Chosun University’s College of Dentistry provide oral health checkups and refer patients for further treatment – a service many residents would otherwise delay or skip entirely due to cost or unfamiliarity with the Korean healthcare system. The Gwangju Workers’ Health Center offers blood pressure and blood sugar screening, along with hands-on guidance on stretching exercises designed to prevent musculoskeletal disorders, a common issue for residents in physically demanding jobs. Mental health counseling is also available through partner institutions, giving participants a rare, low-barrier opportunity to talk through stress or emotional difficulties with a professional.

Gwangju’s Global Community groups take part as well, offering guidance shaped by their own lived experience and cultural background. For many participants, hearing advice from someone who has faced similar challenges after moving to Korea makes a real difference in how comfortable they feel raising personal or sensitive questions.

What stands out most about One-Stop Counseling Day is that it treats international residents not as passive recipients of aid but as people capable of resolving their own problems once they have accurate information and a clear path to the right institution. By connecting residents directly with tax officers, lawyers, labor specialists, police officers, dentists, and health workers – and by making sure language is never a barrier – the GIRC has built something that goes well beyond a single Sunday afternoon of service. It has become a small but steady bridge between international residents and the public systems meant to support them, one that may soon reach even further as Gwangju and Jeonnam move forward as a single, special metropolitan city. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to visit the GIRC. To request a specific time slot or interpreter in advance, please contact the GIRC at 1644-3828.

Photographs courtesy of the GIRC.

Cover Photo: A certified administrative agent advised international residents on visa- and residency-related matters.