[Special Feature: World Day of Migrants and Refugees] “Undocumented Migrant Children Are Our Neighbors, Too”
"Shadow Children" Unable to Access Schools or Hospitals... We Must First Acknowledge Their Existence to Ensure Basic Protection
Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, States are obligated to guarantee rights to children regardless of their or their parents' status—such as race, language, or nationality—and must prioritize the "best interests of the child" in all decisions concerning them. However, some children's very existence goes unrecognized, let alone their universal rights. These are the so-called "undocumented migrant children." On the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, we examine the reality faced by undocumented migrant children in Korea, the challenges in guaranteeing their rights, and the role of the Church. Children Whose Very Existence Goes Unacknowledged
Child A, a Vietnamese boy born in Korea, developed pneumonia after a cold went untreated in time. He required hospitalization three to four times a year for treatment, resulting in medical expenses exceeding 10 million won. This was because his family, being undocumented migrants, lacked legal residency status and could not enroll in the national health insurance system. Consequently, even minor illnesses can escalate into life-threatening situations due to the difficulty of obtaining proper care. Falling into the blind spots of the health insurance system, these families must bear the full cost of outpatient care, hospitalization, and rehabilitation, often leading to delayed treatment. As seen in the case of Child A, undocumented migrant children are treated as if they do not exist across nearly every aspect of life—including healthcare, education, culture, and legal status.
According to the "2026 Youth Statistics" released on May 21 by the National Data Agency and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of multicultural students in elementary, middle, and high schools was 202,208 in 2025. However, this figure covers only children from international marriages and foreign families who are currently enrolled in school; it excludes children whose births have not been officially recorded, such as those outside the school system and undocumented migrant children.
The reason they are excluded from these statistics is simply that the state lacks an accurate count of how many undocumented children are living in specific regions. Consequently, they are often labeled as "children who exist yet do not" or referred to as "shadows."
The First Step Toward Guaranteeing Rights for Migrant Children: "Discovering" Them
It is not impossible to rescue migrant children from the blind spots of the welfare system. The starting point for guaranteeing their basic rights is acknowledging their existence. Potential measures include official verification systems or a national birth registration system.
On August 27, in a case concerning the legislature's failure to enact laws on birth registration for foreign children, the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly's inaction regarding a universal birth registration system was unconstitutional. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court explained, “The guarantee of the ‘right to have one’s birth registered’ immediately upon birth should not differ based on whether a child is a national or a foreigner.” The Court further noted, “Considering that children cannot choose their place of birth, country, or parents, the official recording of a child’s existence by the jurisdiction where they were born serves as a minimum safeguard for the child as a human being.”
Some local governments have already implemented such alternatives. In February of this year, Gyeonggi Province introduced an “Official Verification System for Unregistered Foreign Children.” Through collaborations with organizations such as the Migrant Pastoral Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul and Save the Children, the province had issued 144 child verification certificates across 10 cities and counties by the end of June. While this system is distinct from formal birth registration—meaning it does not grant nationality or legal residency status—it serves as a crucial starting point by administratively verifying the child's existence, thereby enabling access to medical care, protection, and support systems.
However, this system is limited to Gyeonggi Province. Father Yoo Sang-hyuk (John the Baptist), head of the Migrant Pastoral Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul, remarked, “While this demonstrates the potential of a model based on identifying, verifying, and connecting migrant children with services, it does not fully resolve regional disparities in rights or the gaps in birth registration.”