23,000 Vietnamese Compete for High-Paying Jobs in South Korea

Plan to Send 8,000 Workers to South Korea This Year
"Top Wages in Korea... Higher Than in Japan"

Tens of thousands of Vietnamese people, seeking to work in South Korea where wages are several times higher than in Vietnam, flocked to the selection process for South Korea's Employment Permit System for foreign workers.

According to local media outlet VN Express on May 6 (local time), around 7,900 people took the Korean language proficiency test held at a school in Hanoi the previous day as part of the selection process for the Employment Permit System.

According to the Overseas Labor Center under Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 22,800 people applied for the selection process to send about 8,000 workers to South Korea through the Employment Permit System this year.

As of October last year, more than 650,000 Vietnamese workers were working in over 40 countries, remitting about $4 billion (approximately 5.57 trillion won) annually to Vietnam. Among these, the monthly income of Vietnamese workers in South Korea was reported to be between $1,600 and $2,000, the highest among all countries, surpassing Japan, which ranked second with $1,200 to $1,500, according to a report from Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Vietnamese authorities, the number of Vietnamese workers who found employment in South Korea through the foreign seasonal worker program increased significantly from 433 in 2022 to 2,157 last year. Authorities explained that this program is gaining popularity locally because workers are only required to pay for their passport, visa, health checkup, and airfare, with no intermediary fees, resulting in a lower financial burden.