The government launched the Overseas Koreans Agency(OKA) on June 5 to provide various forms of support to Koreans abroad.

The agency was established in the western city of Incheon, where a boat carrying the first immigrants to the U.S. departed for Hawaii 120 years ago.

Roughly seven-point-five million ethnic Koreans are estimated to be residing in some 180 countries around the world.

Despite the sizable diaspora, however, related policies have been limited, resulting in inconveniences for the community as requests and services had to be processed by multiple government agencies.

In response to calls for an exclusive agency for overseas Koreans that matches the elevated status and reputation of South Korea, the government dissolved the Overseas Koreans Foundation under the foreign ministry and created the OKA.

The agency consolidated all services related to ethnic Koreans abroad that were provided by the foreign, justice and education ministries as well as the Military Manpower Administration.

The OKA is likely to play the role of a control tower for the diaspora.

It is also expected to connect the networks of Korean communities around the world, thus providing a foundation for the joint growth of both the people of South Korea and overseas compatriots through exchanges of information and experience.

Photo : YONHAP News

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