Korea is stepping up efforts to embrace multicultural children. The government on Monday announced new measures to provide more pre-school classes and Korean language lessons for children of multicultural families.

The government said it will open 26 pre-schools across the country for children from mixed marriages or abroad to teach them Korean language and culture for six months before they start regular schooling.

The move comes as more Korean men marry foreign women and more migrant workers live in Korea with their children.

According to government statistics, in Seoul alone more than 6,800 multicultural students were enrolled in primary and secondary schools last year.