The page "Korea Police 홍반장과 함께 (Korean Police Hong is with you)" currently has nearly 97,000 followers. Few people know that the administrator and manager of this Fanpage is a Vietnamese-American policewoman - Nguyen Hong Minh, who is working at the Information Security Department, Jangseong Police Department, Jeonlanam Province (Korea).
Chi Hong Minh is 38 years old and has been in the profession for 6 years. For many people her age, Minh's start is quite late, but it is a journey of overcoming herself to realize the dream of a Vietnamese bride in Korea.
In 2005, Ms. Minh left Vinh City (Nghe An) to study in Korea, majoring in Economics at Chosun University, Gwangju City. Because of her love for a local man, she decided to stay in Korea to work at a trading company. A year later, the two got married.
After giving birth to her third child, Ms. Minh took a break from work to spend time taking care of her family and baby. And during that time, the mother of three decided to try her hand at the police recruitment exam.
"In fact, since childhood, I have nurtured the dream of becoming a policewoman. While my peers read Hoa Hoc Tro and Muc Tim newspapers , I often read An Ninh Nhan Dan newspaper. I was fascinated by the thrilling and exciting crime solving of the police officers.
But my father did not think so. He thought this job was too dangerous and hard for a girl, so he oriented me to pursue a career in economics," Ms. Minh recalled.
According to Korean regulations, the exam to become a police officer is only for people with Korean nationality. After many nights of hesitation and thought, she chose to become a police officer, although the path to realizing her dream would be very difficult. "No longer holding Vietnamese nationality, wherever I go and whatever I do, I am still Vietnamese, in my soul and heart," Minh confided.
When she informed her husband and her family that she would register to take the exam to become a police officer in Korea, Ms. Minh thought that everyone would object because she now had a family and 3 young children to take care of. Moreover, this was considered a tough exam with high requirements for both professional and physical strength, especially for a mother who weighed nearly 100kg like her.
Contrary to her thoughts, her husband, his family, especially her parents and brother in Vietnam, strongly supported Minh's plan to become a police officer.
"I know that becoming a police officer in my country is not easy, but becoming a police officer in Korea is very difficult. The work is also hard and dangerous, but if you still want to make your childhood dream come true, your parents will always support you and stand by your side.
"Live your dream. It's never too late to make your dream come true," Minh's father encouraged his daughter from Vietnam.
With the support and encouragement of her family, Ms. Minh threw herself into studying. If the professional knowledge was difficult for her, the physical test was a real challenge for her.
Weight loss programs, physical training, martial arts with increasingly heavy training intensity, there were times when she thought she could not hold on, but then the woman of 3 children pulled herself together, tried with 200% strength and determination, because the "dream destination" was very close...
All her efforts and hard work paid off. Ms. Minh lost... 40kg in 10 months and passed the entrance exams to the Korean police force in 2018 with flying colors. After 6 months of day and night training and 2 more months of internship, the Vietnamese bride was officially appointed to work at the Jangseong Police Department.
She is assigned to investigate cases of domestic violence, school violence and missing persons.
Having been an international student, First Lieutenant Hong Min Hee - Nguyen Hong Minh clearly understands the difficulties and obstacles foreigners here are facing and needs timely support.
"Many people ask me, does Korea accept Vietnamese people into the police force to arrest illegal Vietnamese people? This is not true. We are police, carrying out tasks to handle cases of violations of criminal and traffic laws... The police do not arrest foreigners residing illegally in Korea, this is the field of the Immigration Department," said Ms. Minh.
At first, when she was in charge of investigating domestic violence cases, she received many requests for help from Vietnamese brides. Ms. Minh still remembers clearly the story of a Vietnamese bride who was abused by her husband for many years. From a message left on the Korean Police Fanpage Hong accompanies you, Ms. Minh asked for the phone number to directly talk and share with this woman.
"My husband has been beating me for many years but I dare not report it to the police, fearing that he will take revenge. Do you have any way to help me escape from my husband's beatings?", the woman burst into tears over the phone. I encouraged her to stay calm and guided her through the steps to report to the authorities.
After that, I was transferred to a care center for victims of domestic violence and received legal advice so that I could divorce my husband. The good news is that I dared to stand up to protect myself and now have a more stable and happier life," Minh confided.
She believes that disagreements and conflicts that arise in multicultural families stem from differences in language, culture, and lifestyle. Therefore, in addition to resolving cases in accordance with local laws, Ms. Minh spends a lot of time advising and supporting Vietnamese brides.
Policewoman Hong Min Hee shared: "Before deciding to marry a foreigner, Vietnamese women need to equip themselves with language and knowledge of the local culture to have a basic foundation for married life. Besides, Vietnamese brides in particular, foreign brides in general, need to have knowledge of the law and boldly seek support, instead of silently enduring."
Not only that, Ms. Minh persuaded many Vietnamese brides to join the "Volunteer Team to ensure security and order", helping them improve their legal knowledge and become more confident when participating in activities to ensure security and order in the area, thereby enhancing the role of women in Korean social life.
"The local people were very happy and friendly when they saw us on patrol, many even waved hello," said Senior Lieutenant Hong Min Hee.
In addition to directly handling cases related to her field of responsibility, through the Fanpage of Hong Korean Police accompanying her friends, Ms. Minh often organizes livestreams to propagate and disseminate the law to the Vietnamese community in Korea.
A reality that is happening in Jeonlanam and many other localities in Korea is the situation of foreign workers staying illegally after their work contracts expire. Through direct and indirect propaganda sessions on her Fanpage, Ms. Minh provides workers with a clear understanding of Korean regulations.
"Illegal workers do not enjoy any benefits while in Korea, do not have insurance, and when they have health problems, they have to pay 100% of the treatment costs, which are very expensive here. In addition, illegal residents will not be allowed to open a bank account, so when sending money to Vietnam, they have to go through a third party and face many risks of being scammed," Ms. Minh pointed out.
Currently, Senior Lieutenant Hong Min Hee - Nguyen Hong Minh is in charge of the foreign affairs sector of Jangseong Police Department. Being fluent in three languages: Korean, English and Vietnamese helps her in many ways in carrying out her duties.
However, for Ms. Minh, to meet the increasingly high demands of her job as well as the industry's foreign affairs, she needs to improve her professional skills and working style...
During her duties, Ms. Minh had special business trips such as accompanying, interpreting and ensuring safety for the Commander of the Korean National Police Agency visiting and working in Vietnam, as well as welcoming, accompanying and interpreting for the delegation of the Minister and Deputy Minister of Public Security of Vietnam visiting and working in Korea.
According to this Vietnamese policewoman, this is a very stressful task, requiring the interpreter to research and prepare carefully about the content of the meeting, especially the specialized terminology. However, those special trips also left her with many beautiful memories.
"There were times when I accompanied high-ranking leaders to work in Vietnam, many Vietnamese people asked me "how come you are a foreigner but speak Vietnamese so well?". When I told them I was Vietnamese, they were very surprised. As a Korean police officer of Vietnamese origin, I am proud to contribute a small brick to build a bridge, fostering the relationship between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Korean National Police Agency to become increasingly close and friendly", Ms. Hong Minh shared.
To do the job she loves is happiness. And in that happiness, she is always grateful to her family who always understands, encourages, shares housework and is a strong support for her. She also feels very lucky to have friendly colleagues who love and support her wholeheartedly in her work.
After business trips, working time at the office and fulfilling the duties of a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law in the family, Ms. Minh spends time on weekends teaching Vietnamese to children whose mothers are Vietnamese.
Through these lessons, she not only helps the children to be able to communicate and talk with their mothers and grandparents in Vietnam, but also helps them understand more about the historical and cultural traditions of their country and their maternal hometown.
At home, she also maintains teaching and communicating in Vietnamese with her children. Every year, she and her husband take time to take their children to visit their grandparents in Vietnam, so that they can understand and love their homeland more.
"Becoming a police officer, my goal is to help the foreign community living in Korea, preventing criminal situations due to lack of information. My respected captain calls me a "global policewoman" but I think that is encouragement and somewhat preferential to me, I myself have to try harder to become a good policewoman and a reliable support for foreigners, especially the Vietnamese community in Korea", the Vietnamese-origin policewoman confided.
Photo: Character provided
10/12/2023 - 04:55
Dantri.com.vn
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