Inclusive Society / South Korea, Taiwan Strive for Coexistence With Foreigners Amid Low Birth Rates, Labor Shortages

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, January 19, 2026

This is the final installment in a series of articles on coexistence with foreign residents and visitors.

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In other parts of East Asia, like Japan, labor shortages are a growing concern due to declining birth rates, and there are ongoing efforts to define what an inclusive society should look like.

The Ansan City Autonomous Crime Prevention Unit — consisting of local South Korean citizens and foreign residents — conducted a patrol through the bustling streets of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul, in early December.

This volunteer unit takes on tasks such as resolving issues involving intoxicated individuals and providing language support. One group member explained that they were motivated by a desire to give back to their beloved city.

The unit consists of about 40 members from about 10 countries, including Uzbekistan and Pakistan, who joined after hearing about it at their workplaces or via other means. In coordination with police, they work in rotating shifts for about four hours per night from Monday to Saturday every week after finishing their daytime jobs.

Karunanayaka Shane Ayesh, 44, a Sri Lankan employee at a machining factory, who has lived in South Korea for 20 years, said he thinks it is essential to strive for community integration and effective communication in order to live together in harmony.

The unit was established in the 1980s, coinciding with the development of industrial complexes near the city. Following an influx of foreign workers to address labor shortages, the foreign population of the city surpassed 100,000 as of autumn last year, about 14% of the total population.

Ansan has evolved into a vibrant multicultural city where visitors can experience a diverse range of cuisines, attracting about 3 million tourists annually.

The Ansan Foreign Residents’ Support Headquarters, operated by the city, offers a range of services, including a free clinic and Korean language classes, as well as consultation desks that provide support in 14 languages and a dedicated counter for official administrative tasks. The focus of the headquarters is to ensure that foreign residents do not become isolated. Currently, about 10,000 people per month use the services.

On the other hand, some residents are concerned about the rising cost of support services and potential increases in crime. A 2023 survey conducted by a Gyeonggi Province research institute showed that about 67% of respondents gave negative or very negative views on the increasing number of foreign residents.

The city is focusing on community-building events, such as sports tournaments, where both South Korean and foreign residents participate.

Lee Young Og, head of the city’s Foreign Resident Administration Division, stated that it is important to enhance services while striving to create a city where everyone treats one another with mutual respect.

Taiwan also finds foreign labor indispensable to its economy. About 860,000 migrant workers are employed in designated sectors, including elderly care and agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

In front of a station in Taichung, central Taiwan, in mid-November, staff from a labor consultation desk commissioned by the city asked passing migrant workers if they were facing any difficulties.

Ika Ariana, 25, a caregiver from Indonesia who has lived in Taiwan for three years, spoke about the difficulty of communicating with the elderly people she cares for, noting that she can only manage simple conversations.

The consultation desk is located in ASEAN Square, a commercial building near the station. The building is home to dozens of tenants, including supermarkets selling foods from Southeast Asian countries and clothing stores. It is a multilingual hub where various languages fill the air. The city has invested over 50 million Taiwan dollars (about ¥250 million) in developing this facility since 2018.

While a city official noted that having a reliable place to turn to provides a sense of security, Taiwan is also facing many cases of migrant workers going missing. These disappearances are often attributed to dissatisfaction with low wages and grueling working hours.

Taiwan authorities added seven Southeast Asian languages to the list of required electives for elementary school students in 2019. These classes are held even if requested by only a single student, and are intended to help children of the roughly 610,000 “new residents,” who immigrated primarily through marriage, understand their roots.

At Beixin Elementary School in New Taipei City, northern Taiwan, students learn from teachers who are themselves new residents. Liu Yu-hsin, 9, a third-grade elementary school student with Taiwanese parents, is enthusiastic about learning Thai, saying that he wants to be able to talk with his friend whose parents are from Thailand.

The authorities are promoting policies to strengthen economic ties with Southeast Asia and are trying to nurture individuals who can serve as bridges through education, since learning about different cultures broadens children’s perspective.