"Foreign Workers Who Don't Speak Korean Are Increasing... This Method Works for Everyone" [Construction in]

Hyundai Construction Safety System Operations Team
Interview with Managers Ddanjjeotun (Myanmar), Kim Youngguk (China), Kai (Vietnam)

Safety Training in Native Languages for Foreign Site Workers
"Foreigners Who Came to Work Abroad Should Not Get Hurt"

Editor's Note'Geonseolin' is an interview series that focuses on individuals active in the construction industry. We aim to deliver vivid stories from the industry by meeting construction professionals who stand out in various fields such as core businesses and new growth engines of construction companies.

Foreign employees of Hyundai Engineering & Construction are posing before an interview on the 2nd at the Hyundai Engineering & Construction Gyedong office building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From the left, Kai, Manager of the Safety System Operation Team at Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Vietnam); Tan Zhetun, Manager of the Safety System Operation Team at Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Myanmar); Kim Youngguk, Manager of the Safety System Operation Team at Hyundai Engineering & Construction (China). Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

"Connect the safety hook" (Qing qi guo an qiao dai · Chinese)
"Fasten your belt to prevent falling" (Hai moc yai dai an tuan de chan bi lei · Vietnamese)
"Check your work tools" (Let kaing kiriya su seh muk go lok saung ba · Myanmar)

This is the voice guidance from ‘Mobile HPMS,’ a smartphone application created by Hyundai Construction for employees working on site. One of the main features of this app is multilingual translation usable at construction sites. It includes five languages: Chinese, Vietnamese, Myanmar, Thai, and Cambodian. It contains over 500 sentences ranging from everyday conversation like health management to work-related phrases such as formwork and rebar, as well as disaster prevention phrases like falls and drops. Korean employees can find the desired sentence and press the play button to easily communicate with foreign workers.

"It is difficult to accurately convey intentions at construction sites using commercial translators because there are specific site terminologies. So, we thought about organizing the necessary phrases by country and recording them in our own voices for use on site. That was the idea we came up with."

Managers Tan Zhe Tun (Myanmar), Kim Young Guk (China), and Kai (Vietnam), who joined Hyundai Construction’s Safety System Operations Team together, explained the reason for creating the translator. When we met them on the 2nd at Hyundai Construction headquarters in Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, they laughed saying, "This summer, we spent a lot of time reminding foreign workers about heatwave safety rules. Now Korea is hotter than Southeast Asia."

The three’s main task is safety education for foreign workers at subcontractor sites. They even obtained industrial safety and health engineer certifications to do this work. They said, "When we visit sites, about 30% of all workers are foreign laborers. There is no place without them, from apartment construction to tunnels and roadworks. Workers who come to earn money in a foreign land must be very careful not to get injured. However, it is a reality that it is difficult for them to understand safety education with only a month or two of Korean language skills."

Therefore, they started safety education in the workers’ native languages. The three either go directly to the sites or gather foreign workers via video calls to provide education in Myanmar, Chinese, and Vietnamese. They said, "For example, to avoid heatstroke, workers need to know how much rest to take during work and how the rest facilities on site operate. We explain these things in their native languages. Unexpectedly, when foreign workers receive education in their own language, they feel pleased and develop an interest in safety that they didn’t have before."

They also play a role in solving everyday problems occurring on site. They introduced, "At civil engineering sites, workers live in group dormitories, and misunderstandings sometimes arise because Korean and foreign workers cannot communicate well. We organize and write down living rules and post them in the rooms, and also mediate disputes." There was a touching moment while working. A site manager of an apartment construction said, "I want to give a small gift to foreign workers who are struggling in a strange land," and asked when each country’s holidays are.

The construction industry offers higher wages than manufacturing, making it especially popular among foreign workers coming to Korea. However, it is also an industry exposed to many risks. They said, "It is also the responsibility of construction companies to provide safety education so that foreign workers chasing the Korea Dream can stay healthy. Only then can foreign workers grow into skilled workers at construction sites."