Afghan refugees rebuild lives in South Korea a year after Taliban takeover

Shahpoor Ahmad Azimi, 38, eats lunch with his family at his house in Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung Kim

YONGIN, South Korea (Reuters) - A year after nearly 400 Afghan refugees fled the Taliban takeover of their homeland to settle in South Korea, many have swapped white-collar pursuits for factory jobs in a struggle with language and cultural challenges as they build new lives.

They were among the 79 Afghan families South Korea evacuated as Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, permitting them long-term stays in return for having worked on its projects in the war-ravaged mountainous nation.