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| A notice announcing the temporary suspension of operation is posted, Monday, on Jincheon County's online shopping mall, which sells regional specialties such as rice. Screen capture from JC mall |
By Jun Ji-hye
Jincheon County located in North Chungcheong Province is receiving applause from people across the country for housing hundreds of Afghans who were evacuated from their homeland, which has been overrun by the Taliban.
As a means to express their respect for the county's acceptance of the Afghan evacuees, many people have been flocking to its online shopping mall, which sells regional specialties such as rice, in recent days. A flood of orders from all over the country has resulted in the temporary suspension of the operation of the online mall.
A total of 390 Afghans who worked for Korea's embassy and its humanitarian and relief facilities in Afghanistan, were evacuated to Korea with their family members in two groups on military aircraft last week amid worsening security conditions there, due to the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. troops and the Taliban retaking power.
The evacuees arrived at the Leadership Campus of the National Human Resources Development Institute in Jincheon, Friday, to stay for about eight weeks, including a two-week self-isolation period aimed at curbing the possible spread of COVID-19. After two weeks, they will be offered Korean language and cultural education for six weeks to help them if they choose to settle here.
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| Two children among Afghan evacuees wave as they arrive at Incheon International Airport via a KC-330 military tanker transport aircraft, Thursday. Yonhap |
Local government officials and residents welcomed the arrival of the Afghans, with several banners that read "We share your pain" placed along roadsides near the facility.
In the county's online shopping mall, 21 local companies sell agricultural specialties, including rice and other grains, fruits, vegetables and flowers.
On Sunday, a notice was posted on its website, announcing its temporary suspension due to an explosive increase in orders resulting in delivery delays. It marked the first time that the operation of the online mall has been suspended due to a flood of orders since its opening in 2004.
"Since Friday, we have received 1,500 orders in 48 hours, which was 20 times larger compared to ordinary weekends," said an official from Izensoft, a software company that runs the online mall. "The temporary suspension of the operation became necessary due to a delay in deliveries. We will resume operation at 10 a.m., Thursday."
Meanwhile, nearly seven in 10 Korean people said they agreed with the government's decision to grant visas that will enable the Afghan evacuees to live and work here.
According to Realmeter's survey on 500 Korean people over the age of 18, Monday, 68.7 percent said they agreed with the decision, while 28.7 percent were against it.
The Ministry of Justice granted short-term C-3 visas for the Afghans who were named as "persons of special merit" to Korea, and is currently in the process of changing the enforcement ordinance of the Immigration Control Act to provide F-2 visas that permit work and residency of up to five years.
The Afghans will later be provided with the chance to apply for the F-5 permanent residency visa.
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