The Social Integration Program is a systematic social integration education developed to cultivate the basic knowledge and skills, such as the Korean language, culture, and social understanding, that foreign residents need to adapt to and become independent members of Korean society. Those who complete the program can receive benefits such as extra points when applying for various residency permits, permanent residency and citizenship, and exemptions from the naturalization test. The Social Integration Program is available to foreigners who possess a valid foreign registration card or resident registration card and to naturalized citizens who have not yet completed three years since acquiring Korean citizenship. The program is offered by designated universities, local governments, public agencies, multicultural family support centers, and private organizations (310 institutions nationwide). The curriculum consists of the following courses: (1) Korean language and culture courses, which are divided into elementary (0 level), beginner (levels 1 and 2), and intermediate (levels 3 and 4) based on the student's Korean proficiency level, and (2) a Korean social understanding course (level 5), which teaches basic knowledge of Korean society, culture, politics, economics, and more.

For reference, individuals who have completed the Social Integration Program 5-step course and passed the comprehensive evaluation or those who have not passed the comprehensive evaluation but have repeated the course three times are considered Social Integration Program graduates. Individuals who have already been recognized to have basic knowledge (scoring 85 or higher on the pre-evaluation) are given the opportunity to take the comprehensive evaluation without participating in the Social Integration Program curriculum, and if they pass, they can apply for permanent residency.
Starting March 1, 2019, the naturalization written test has been replaced with the Social Integration Program comprehensive evaluation. Those who have completed the Social Integration Program 5-step course and passed the comprehensive evaluation are exempt from the naturalization interview. However, those who have only passed the comprehensive evaluation without completing the 5-step Social Integration Program course must still undergo the naturalization interview. Applicants for naturalization can take the Social Integration Program comprehensive evaluation up to three times within one year of their application date, and if they fail all three times, they will not be granted naturalization. To take the comprehensive evaluation, individuals can join the Social Integration Information Network (www.socinet.go.kr) and select their desired exam date.