“If Only He Had Come to Us a Little Sooner…”

“If only he had come to us a little sooner…”
Pastor Ko Kyung-soo of the Daegu Migrant Mission Center in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, looked troubled as he listened to the story of Mr. Yu, a migrant worker from Nepal.
Mr. Yu said he had been riding an electric scooter when a car in front of him suddenly stopped, causing a collision. The impact dented the vehicle’s exhaust pipe and left a small scratch on the trunk. The real problem came afterward: the car owner demanded more than 10 million won in compensation.
For a migrant worker, that was not an easy sum to bear.
After hearing the circumstances, Pastor Ko immediately began looking for a solution. He believed Mr. Yu needed a lawyer who could carefully review the case from his perspective and represent his interests. At the same time, Mr. Yu’s financial situation had to be taken into account. Ko began exploring ways for him to receive legal assistance without taking on an excessive financial burden.
He did not simply hand over the name of an agency or a phone number and send him away. Instead, he helped determine who could assist, what procedures needed to be followed, and what steps should come next.
Disadvantaged Simply Because They Do Not Speak Korean Well
Pastor Ko said cases like this are not unusual.
Migrants who are not fluent in Korean often struggle to explain what happened when they become involved in accidents or disputes. Even when they believe they have been treated unfairly, many do not know where to seek help or how to challenge what has happened.
Ko said there are also cases in which people take advantage of that vulnerability.
“Some people assume that because migrants do not speak Korean well, they will not be able to argue their case properly.”
For migrants living in Korea, legal and administrative systems can be a formidable barrier. From visas and residency status to employment, wages and accident claims, many issues directly affecting their daily lives and livelihoods must be handled in an unfamiliar language and within an unfamiliar system.
Yet, Ko said, Korean society often expects migrants to adapt to local practices rather than first trying to understand the linguistic and institutional difficulties they face.
The people who visited the center that day were dealing with similar problems.
One young man came because he did not know how to resolve a visa issue. Another migrant worker sought help after being asked to pay a large amount of compensation following an accident, with no idea how to respond.
Visa, legal and administrative matters can be complicated even for Koreans. For migrants unfamiliar with the Korean language and system, those same problems can become even greater obstacles.
The outcome can depend heavily on what information a person has and whether they know whom to turn to in a crisis. In some cases, the consequences can affect residency status, livelihood and the financial burden a person ultimately has to carry.
Twenty-Three Years in the Same Place
The Daegu Migrant Mission Center was established in 2003. Since then, Pastor Ko has spent 23 years helping migrants deal with problems involving work, residency and everyday life.
Of course, he does not have the answer to every problem.
When he encounters something he does not know, he looks into it. When he cannot resolve an issue himself, he finds someone who can. If a lawyer is needed, he looks for one. If administrative assistance is required, he connects the person with the appropriate institution or specialist.
But there is one principle he says he has never abandoned:
Do not simply listen to someone’s problem and then send them somewhere else.
The role of the center, he said, is to stand beside people who have been carrying their problems alone and to help them search for a solution together.
Before the interview ended, one remark from Pastor Ko lingered.
“No one should be placed at a disadvantage simply because they do not speak Korean well. If no one else will step forward, then we should.”
It was not a grand declaration.
But perhaps those few words explain why the Daegu Migrant Mission Center has remained in the same place, standing beside migrants, for the past 23 years.