♪ south korea, long known as a home genous country has been allowing foreign officials into

labor since early 2000. three years ago this revised laws to allow skilled foreign workers to become south korean citizens without having to give up their original citizenship. a woman from the philippines has even become a member of national assembly. . >> but there are also concerns about the increase in foreign people becoming korean.

>> this episode "asia insight" focuses on south korea's new citizens. south korea continues to globalize its public and private sectors for the sake of its economic growth. but the country is also struggling with a labor shortage, a growing income gap, and an aging society. as one solution, the government has been increasingly accepting foreign labor. the number of foreign residents in south korea has now reached over 1.5 million. doubling over the past decade. this p.r. video was made by the

government. south korea has established various laws to make it easier for foreigners to live in the country. and also to attract them here. one of the laws aims to increase foreign labor. another called the multicultural family law, aims to promote international marriages. in 2011, the government revised part of the nationality law to improve dual citizenship for skilled foreigners with outstanding talents, starting a multiple citizenship system. the home rink of the anyang ice hockey team is located on outskirts of seoul. on this day, they are playing a preseason friendly match against local rivals.

in the audience is the program director of south korea's national team and observing possible team members for the qualifying rounds of the next olympics. among the skaters are three players with dual citizenship. they were able to join their respective teams using the multiple citizenship system. anyang forward radunske played in the u.s. and germany. brian young also from canada is a defenseman on the team. his physique and strength have made him the pillar of defense. michael swift is brian's cousin and arrived from canada about a year after brian.

he's the forward and top scorer in the asian league for two years in a row. they've been doubled the three musketeers and hailed as players that will bring the south korean hockey team success. >> it's a process for a national team to pick a national team, he helped with that first goal for them, strong on the puck, big body. he'll go to the front of the net and go to the dirty areas. brian, he's a steady defenseman for sure. and then michael swift, he started to come on as the period moved on so -- >> even though they never had ties with the country, many foreign nationals have recently been obtaining south korean citizenship. >> as long as i can stay at the top of my game, it's a chance for me to participate in these international tournaments, which

i've never done younger in my -- when i was younger in my career. but it makes it really hard to play for your country so you know, getting to play for korea and we get to play against some of these other countries, it's for an athlete, that's a big honor and exciting. >> my contract ran out back home. and yeah, nfs there was a lot of other options and offers but brian was telling me about the asia league and how good it was and what he thought about it. so i thought, sure, i'll come over for a year. for me, i think it's more pressure playing hockey because i'm not just an import anymore, i'm classified as korean. so it's for on pt ice it's a lot more pressure for sure because i feel now more people are

watching you. >> since the multitim citizenship program began, more and more sports people have been inquiring about obtaining south korean nationality. >> when i got the opportunity to come here and coach, lots of players called me and agents called me saying, can we come to korea and play? there is interest building for sure. >> speed skater kong sangjeong helped south korea win a gold medal in a relay at the sochi olympics. her family inmigrated during her grandfather's generation. she couldn't compete for south korea and her parents debated over what was best for their daughter, taiwanese or south

korean citizenship.

>> whether to obtain south korean citizenship or not was a major decision that would affect sang's future. the multiple citizenship system was established. her father immediately started the process of applying for his daughter's dual nationality. ee val yags is based on recommendations from select persons and meeting various strict criteria. ultimately a committee for granting citizenship makes the decision. her application was approved without a hitch. she was chosen to represent

south korea at the sochi olympics. after helping her team win gold in the 3,000 meter relay, sang-jeong has become a national her o in,e on this day she's been invited to appear as a special guest at an amateur skating competition. sang-jeong can use her skating talents to the fullest and loved by those all over the country.

she feels she was never accepted until she obtained south korean citizenship. . >> sang-jeong is now focused on winning another medal for south

korea at the next winter olympics. the south korean ministry of justice runs the multiple citizenship system. since the system began in 2011, they granted south korean citizenship to 50 people from various fields. sang-up is the nationality division director.

>> the does it of ansan is 30 kilometers southwest of seoul. 70% of the residents are foreigners. the foreign residents here originate from 71 different countries. the streets are filled with food, drinks and products from a variety of asian countries. currently, 60% of the foreign nationals working in south korea are engaged in industries such as agriculture, fishing and manufacturing and construction. more than 150,000 have my grated to the country after marrying south korean nationals.

>> the ansan multicultural village has various facilities catering to foreign residents. at this consultation center,

foreigners can get help with issues related to labor conditions and wages and other day to day problems. it receives more than 50,000 inquires a year. they provide services in nine languages, including dialects used in china, russia, pakistan and sri lanka, thanks to staff who come in on different days. korean language classes are offered for anyone with a foreign registration card. in addition, there are clinics where residents can get free health care. internists and dent tists provide services on weekdays while specialists treat patients on the weekends. all of these services are covered by the taxpayer or offered for free by volunteers.

some academics however, have been expressing concern about providing such services and the country's multiethnic policy. socialology professor has been studying foreign labor for many years.

>> in 2012, an immigrant woman became the first ever nonethnic korean to become a lawmaker. she was backed by the ruling party. jasmine lee from the philippines came to south korea 17 years ago after marrying a korean man. she began gaining popularity

when she appeared in a tv show focusing on immigrant women. she's now a national assembly member. >> while many south koreans support the immigrant national assembly member, some critics have made harsh comments about her online.

>> but jasmine believes that foreign people should be judged by their actions and what they contribute to society. jasmine is trying to build a society where south koreans and immigrants co-exist in a mutually supportive way and says it's important for everyone to see eye to sigh as south korean

residents. >> jasmine has become a symbol of hope for immigrants in south korea.

>> while some websites are filled with anonymous complaints about immigrants and immigration policy. one organization has launched a site openly opposing the country's multicultural policy. they are called i love korea. byung-kyun is the group's representative. the 200 member organization strongly opposes immigration policy online and through demonstrations and insist the policy hasn't obtained citizens consent.

>> i love korea's members don't want to exclude foreigners from the country all together but the goal is to improve immigration policy. the south korean government continues to secure foreign talent and manual labor. one part of its long-term strategy is to keep increasing international students. the number of international students has jumped five-fold to 80,000 in the past ten years nankz to a new scholarship program and other services. the government has plans to increase the quoteta to 200,000.

>> i'm from england. on top of that, i mean, the hold northeast asia is an area which i'm particularly interested in. it's a growing area. it offers a lot of potential not just for me but england as well. that's something i want to bring up. >> i'm from the philippines. >> do you have any jobs related to korea? >> yes, if i have a better opportunity here for future, i would really love to work in korea. i get accustomed to the culture and way of living and lifestyle here. i would be very happy to have a job here. >> speedskater jeong is busy

with preparations for the new season. expectations from the south korean public are high. >> she will next appear in a domestic meet in early 2015. she's determined to do well to keep her place on the national team and make the next olympics. as south korean national, the pressure is mounting for the young speed skater.

>> south korea is gearing up for change from a hom genous society to multicultural one. but can it overcome customs and values. the key probably lies within each individual. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline". a videotape has sparked anger and has brought more people into the streets. demonstrators are digging into the heels out of police headquarters. they're demanding the officers involved be punished. their anger came after local