Busan Metropolitan City has opened a global center branch in partnership with Busan Foundation for International Activities.

The center offers counseling services and free language programs to expatriates, including information and consultation on immigration, employment, medical care, transportation, taxes, insurance and banking.

The new center has also increased the number of languages offered by the BFIA’s call center, with English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian and Uzbeki now available. The call center is open from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., from Monday through Saturday.

A 10-week course titled “World Cultural Class” is also running at the BGC. Each week, foreign-born residents from 12 different countries host sessions to talk about their own country and culture in English or Korean. The participation fee is 10,000 won.

The Busan Global Center is across from City Hall in the National Pension Service Building in Yeonsan-dong. It is open from 9.30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, call 1577-7716 or visit their website at: www.bfia.or.kr/renewal/english/main.html.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)