Kathmandu. In the past 15 years, more than one lakh Nepalese workers have reached South Korea through the Employment Permit System (EPS). In 2007, an agreement was signed between Korea and the Nepalese government to take Nepali workers to Korea. According to the agreement, since 2008, Nepali workers started going to Korea for employment according to the EPS system.
So far, 100,1268 workers have reached Korea for employment through EPS system. Compared to other countries, Korea is becoming an attractive labor destination for Nepalese youth due to its attractive service facilities. In 2023, only 19,689 Nepali workers have reached Korea.
After passing the language test conducted by Korea, Nepalese workers can go to Korea. The director of EPS Korea branch, Maiyan Kadel, says that Korea is the priority for workers because of the low cost and higher earnings than other countries.
Korea’s process of taking workers is very transparent. It is also safe because it is sent through a G-2-G agreement between government and government’, she said, ‘Korea is becoming the choice of Nepali youth because the cost is lower than going to other countries and the earnings are also higher.’
The participation in the language test also shows that many Nepali people want to go to Korea. Nearly 80,000 Nepali youths participated in the Korean language exam held in 2023 alone.
According to director Kandel, Korea has been taking Nepali workers in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and manufacturing, but this year they have also started taking Nepali workers in the field of ship building. She informed that Korea has started demanding workers in service sector, root industry and forest sector from this year.
The number of workers that Korea demands from Nepal is also increasing every year. For the first time in 2008, Korea took 2,814 workers through the EPS system, and in 2023, Korea took nearly 19,000 workers. The director Kandel said that Korea is positive towards Nepal because Nepalese workers are honest and hardworking. “Korea has taken the largest number of workers from Nepal,” she said.
How much do they earn?
In Korea, Nepalese have been working in small industries, agriculture and shipbuilding. Director Maiyan Kandel says that Nepalis who have gone to Korea can earn from 2 lakh to 6 lakh rupees per month.
“The nature of the worker’s work, including overtime, also determines how much they earn,” she said, “but the minimum income of a worker starts from two lakh.”
How are workers going to Korea selected?
The Korean government has been recruiting workers from 16 countries around the world through the Employment Permit System (EPS). The Korean government’s Human Resources Department (HRD Korea), which also has an office in Nepal, is responsible for the selection of workers.
According to the demand of Korea’s Human Resources Department, the EPS branch under Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment requests applications for the Korean language test. The Korean authorities take the Korean language test and publish the results. Those who pass are sent to the Human Resources Department of Korea through the EPS branch and after the details are correct, they are listed in the employer’s roster.
Korean employers request workers through the Human Resources Department. The Human Resources Department sends a list of three times more qualified workers. Employers select workers from that list. The employer has the right to choose workers. Previously, according to the contract, three times more than the demand of workers should have been listed in the roster. But since February, Korea has arranged to include only three times as many applicants as those listed in the roster.