As difficult as... Korean language test

Efforts to overcome the Korean language barrier

Workers register for the Korean language test. Photo: Thanh Nga

In 2025, the whole country will only have 3,300 quotas to go to Korea to work under the EPS program in this period. On the first day of receiving applications for the 2025 Korean language test, the Provincial Employment Promotion Center received 1,500 applications. The number of applications continued to increase in the following days.

Mr. Bui Duc Duy from Quy Hop district said that to submit his application, he had to go to Vinh city one day in advance, and at 6am he went to the center to get his application form, but still had to wait behind 400 people. "This exam is expected to be very difficult for workers because the nature of the exam has changed, while most workers have been studying since 2023 with a different set of questions," Mr. Duy shared, adding that he had taken the Korean language test three times but failed all three times, so he had high expectations for this exam.

Many workers come from the highlands of Nghe An. Photo: Thanh Nga

Mr. Tran Van Vu (born in 2007, residing in Quynh Luu district) also came to Nghe An Employment Service Center to submit his application for the Korean language test at 3:30 a.m., but was still behind 300 people. Mr. Vu said: "I have been studying Korean since the beginning of 2024 and registered to take the test this time to go to Korea to work in the agricultural sector. According to many people, this test will be very difficult and fierce. In my neighborhood, many people have taken the test for the 3rd and 4th time and still have not passed," said Mr. Vu.

A female worker registers her application. Photo: Thanh Nga

Many difficulties

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This year, the time for receiving Korean language registration documents was shortened from 5 days to 3 days, so from the first day, the Center had to divide the registration areas to avoid congestion. Until the last day, we recorded 3,056 registration documents, the highest recorded locality was Hoang Mai Town with 305 people, Thanh Chuong District with 290 workers, Nam Dan District with 246 workers...

Mr. Tran Huu Thuong - Deputy Director of Provincial Employment Service Center

In the most recent round, Vietnam had 16,000 quotas to work in Korea but there were 45,000 applications registered. Nghe An alone had 6,261 quotas registered for the exam but only 2,300 applications met the requirements, meaning Nghe An had 2,300 people passing the Korean language test. On average, only 30% of Nghe An workers passed the Korean language test each round. "This round, the quota is small, the whole country only accepts 3,300 people but Nghe An has 3,056 applications registered for the exam. Therefore, getting a job in the land of Kim Chi is very difficult at present," said Mr. Tran Huu Thuong.

This year, Korea only recruits in two industries: manufacturing and agriculture. Due to the large number of quotas, not too high requirements and a lot of overtime, the agricultural industry has a very large number of applications and the competition is increasingly high.

To take the Korean language test, workers in the countryside have to prepare a large amount of money to go to Vinh city to rent a room and study for the exam. Mr. Bui Duc Duy in Quy Hop district said that he had to use all his savings and his parents' support of about 20-30 million VND to have enough money to study and buy the exam preparation set. In his hometown, many people failed the test for the second or third time, so they got discouraged and gave up. Some people even had to pack up and go to Hanoi to study for 3-4 months to prepare for the exam, which was very expensive.

In addition to the cost of Korean language test preparation, exit fees and deposit fees are still difficult problems for many workers. Mr. Hoang Son Lam - Deputy Director of the Provincial Social Policy Bank said: "In 2024, the whole province will have only 350 workers participating in labor export who can access capital to solve employment problems under national target programs. The reason is that each poor household can only access capital to solve employment problems once, but most workers have borrowed before for livestock farming, production and business, so the opportunity to borrow again to serve the purpose of participating in labor export will be more difficult".

Sharing with workers about the upcoming Korean language exam, Mr. Tran Huu Thuong - Deputy Director of the Provincial Employment Service Center said: To have enough luggage for the Korean language exam and the career orientation exam to meet the requirements of the host country, workers themselves must equip themselves with good Korean language skills. Although the exam questions have changed, the level remains the same, so if workers study hard, they will pass. Besides foreign languages, workers also need to prepare themselves with good skills to have full luggage before leaving the country. Workers who graduate from vocational schools with corresponding training will have an advantage over ordinary workers...

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The Korean Foreign Workers Employment Permit Act was passed by the Korean National Assembly on August 16, 2003, regulating the Foreign Workers Employment Permit Program (referred to as the EPS Program), effective from August 16, 2004. According to the provisions of this Law, Korean enterprises that cannot recruit domestic workers will be allowed to recruit foreign workers in a certain number; the introduction and management of all issues related to foreign workers are carried out by the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor. The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has signed Memorandums of Understanding with countries to send and receive workers to work in Korea. The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has signed Memorandums of Understanding with 15 countries, including Vietnam.

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/kho-nhu-thi-tieng-han-10294896.html