Seoul, Republic of Korea – The IOM Republic of Korea (ROK) Mission and Korea's Migration Research and Training Center (MRTC), hosted the ‘Plural+ Screening and Talk Show’ on International Migrants Day, 18 December.

Plural+ Youth Video Festival was jointly initiated in 2009 by the IOM and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) with a network of more than 50 partner organizations around the globe. To encourage and empower global youth to explore today’s pressing issues of migration, diversity and the prevention of xenophobia through multimedia production, PLURAL+ invites young people of up to 25 years old to submit original and creative short films.  

MRTC is the only Korean partner organization of the Plural+ global network.

With a theme ‘Looking through the Eyes of Migrant Youth,’ the event featured two MRTC award-winning films – “The Letter (Kirgizstan)” and “It Happens Every Day (Portugal)” – along with five other selected short films including: Walls (Jordan, 2019);, 2020); Beyond What You See (Indonesia, 2018); Who Am I? (Republic of Korea, 2009); American Seoul (United States of America, 2016); and Categories (Canada, 2020).

The screenings were followed by a talk show attended by six panelists including three Koreans from the academia and three foreign residents, who discussed challenges and opportunities in raising children as migrant parents or growing with a migration background.

Kim Soo-kyung, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, reflected on her experience of raising a child in three other countries and emphasized an inclusive attitude by saying, “It is not enough to be anti-discriminatory. It is necessary to pursue an inclusive society where migrants are not isolated in everyday life.”

Wahijon, a migrant youth from Uzbekistan, shared his challenges of living as a Muslim in Korea and called for “thoughtful consideration.”

Nie Hart, the director of the Seoul Global Center (Gangnam branch), shared his long-standing struggle over identity confusion and how he overcame.   

Steve Hamilton, the IOM ROK Chief of Mission, said in his opening remarks, “Sustainable development means progress for all, not only for some. To do this, we must create equal societies that are inclusive of migrants, regardless of their status. I hope everyone benefits from the films and discussions.” He added that given the tumultuous situation impacted by the pandemic, “this is a critical time to recognize the challenges faced by migrants as they find themselves stranded in countries where their access to medical care is sometimes in doubt, their livelihoods severely impacted.”

To observe social distancing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was pre-recorded and streamed online on YouTube from 9 a.m. through midnight on International Migrants Day.

For more information please contact Nari Shim at IOM Republic of Korea. Tel:+82-70-4820-2648, Email: nshim@iom.int