Open door to seasonal work in Korea

South Korea has a serious shortage of agricultural workers.

"During each pear harvest season, we need a large number of workers, about 120-150 people. There is a shortage of domestic workers, so the company has to recruit seasonal workers from Vietnam and Thailand. The salary we pay each worker is about 90,000 Won/day (about 1,700,000 VND), not including lunch and overtime pay" - Mr. Nam Hyun Dai, representative of the pear processing center in Asan city shared with Ninh Binh Newspaper reporter.

According to some apple farmers in Asan, the apple growing season starts from March and lasts until October. In addition to the jobs that can be replaced by machines, there are many jobs that require manual labor such as pruning, leaf removal, harvesting, packaging, etc. Meanwhile, each farming household here currently owns an average of about 1.5-2 hectares, so there are times when it is impossible to do it all without hiring more workers.

It is known that Asan city has a total agricultural land area of more than 15 thousand hectares, while the number of farming households is only more than 8,000 households, the number of farmers is about 17 thousand people. Thus, on average, each farming household has 2 people cultivating about 1.8 hectares. It is worth noting that the aging population is taking place seriously in Korea in general, especially in the agricultural sector. In Asan city alone, statistics show that the proportion of farming households over 65 years old accounts for 23.5%.

A representative of the Asan City Agricultural Technology Center said: To solve the shortage of rural labor, for many years now, the Center has supported farmers to promote the application of mechanization in production by operating an agricultural machinery rental bank with nearly 600 machines of all kinds. However, many stages still require human labor. Therefore, the Center invited more than 500 seasonal foreign workers to support farmers.

Simple application, low cost, high income…

Since 2018, the Korean government has allowed local authorities to recruit foreigners to work to address the labor shortage during the peak season of the agricultural and fishery sectors. This program is implemented in the form of a local authority in Korea cooperating with a local authority in Vietnam to recruit workers.

Many localities such as Da Nang, Dong Thap, Ha Tinh, Hau Giang, Thai Binh, Thua Thien Hue, Ha Nam, Ca Mau, Quang Binh... have signed agreements with localities in Korea to send seasonal workers. The effectiveness of the program is highly appreciated with simple application procedures, low costs, suitable jobs, and high salaries.

For Ninh Binh, the favorable thing is that since 2015, the Provincial People's Committee has signed the Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation with Asan City, Chungcheonnam Province (Korea). On that basis, there have been many comprehensive cooperation, exchange and communication activities in the fields of industry, culture and labor. In particular, last July, the two sides signed a Cooperation Agreement on sending and receiving seasonal workers to Korea. The number of recruitment is from 50-100 people per year.

Open door to seasonal work in Korea — Although machinery has been introduced into many production stages, large farms in Asan still require more manual labor in pruning, harvesting, etc.

According to this agreement, the conditions for seasonal work in Korea are quite simple. The workers are Vietnamese citizens with long-term residence (12 months or more) in Ninh Binh province working in the agricultural sector, aged from 30 to under 50 years old. Have full civil capacity; have no criminal record and are not subject to exit ban or temporary exit suspension according to the provisions of law; have good health to work abroad.

Workers are paid according to the minimum wage that Korea is applying, at least 2,050,880 won/month (about 39 million VND). In addition, workers enjoy working time and rest regimes; are guaranteed working conditions, accommodation, living, insurance, and medical examination and treatment costs according to Korean regulations. Workers are responsible for complying with the instructions of the sending locality and the laws of the host country, returning home immediately after completing the labor contract to be able to return to continue working.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Phuc, Head of the Department of Labor - Employment - Vocational Education, Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the province said: With quick procedures, low costs, extended age, no high requirements for vocational training, foreign languages, simple and suitable agricultural work, short travel time (90 days for C-4 visa or 5 months for E-8 visa), quite high income are the advantages of the seasonal labor program.

According to Mr. Phuc, Asan requires the selection of 50-100 people/year, with an expected 2-4 batches/year (from February to October). Therefore, the Department is currently urgently preparing resources by coordinating with departments, branches, and localities to widely publicize the program; mobilizing members and members whose children are qualified and want to work abroad in the agricultural sector to participate in the selection.

Coordinate with the Provincial Police and relevant agencies and units in verifying the qualifications of selected candidates. Along with that, organize Korean language training, orientation education for workers... The goal is to select and introduce candidates to participate in the Cooperation Agreement to ensure quality, publicity, transparency, and the right subjects.

The successful implementation of the program of sending workers to work seasonally in Asan (Korea) will bring great significance. In addition to creating jobs and increasing income, this is also an opportunity for Ninh Binh workers to access, learn and grasp advanced technology in production and business (especially in the field of agricultural production) of Korea, thereby contributing to socio-economic development and strengthening the friendly cooperative relationship between the two localities.

See details of the agreement and plan here:

wide-door-to-korean-temporary-labor-e6c4b.pdf

Article and photos: Nguyen Luu

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