South Korea's South Jeolla Province pilots hiring seasonal Vietnamese agricultural workers

The Gangjin County Agricultural Cooperative in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, hired dozens of Vietnamese workers on five-month contracts starting April 22 to harvest onions and garlic.

Tỉnh Nam Jeolla của Hàn Quốc thí điểm thuê lao động nông nghiệp thời vụ Việt Nam

The South Jeolla Provincial Government announced on June 13 that it is piloting a model of hiring seasonal agricultural workers to help rural areas cope with severe labor shortages.

This is a project that the South Jeolla Provincial Government coordinated with the Korean Ministry of Agriculture to support localities having difficulty hiring workers to work in rural areas.

Gangjin County in South Jeolla Province was chosen as the pilot site for the project, in which cooperatives will hire foreign workers and provide manpower to small farms that are unable to hire workers directly.

Until now, employers have had to directly sign contracts and arrange accommodation for workers, making it difficult for small-scale farms to do so, even though they are facing a labor shortage.

To solve the problem, the Korean government and local governments have piloted a model of hiring foreign seasonal workers through a cooperative model.

The Gangjin County Agricultural Cooperative hired 20 Vietnamese workers on contract for five months starting April 22 to harvest onions and garlic.

Choi Ji-soo, director of the Gangjin County Agricultural Policy Office, said that unlike private human resource brokerage centers, the Gangjin Agricultural Cooperative does not charge brokerage fees, so the daily wage paid directly to foreign workers is only 110,000 won/day (about 80 USD/day), lower than the average of 150,000 won/day.

To be able to deploy this system, in 2023, Gangjin district directly signed a cooperation agreement with Phung Hiep district (Hau Giang province) on providing seasonal labor.

Another locality in the province, Yeongam County, is also deploying 300 seasonal workers to about 100 farms growing melons, chili peppers, figs and sweet potatoes.

Yeongam County authorities said that a significant number of foreign seasonal workers working here are relatives of multicultural families who immigrated through marriage.

To improve the living conditions of foreign workers, Yeongam County plans to spend 4.8 billion won to build a dormitory for agricultural workers in 2025 to support stable accommodation for foreign workers when they come to work locally.

According to Mr. Yoon Jae-seon - Director of Gangjin Agricultural Cooperative, the fact that cooperatives sign contracts to hire foreign workers will help ensure legal and safety conditions for foreign workers when they come to work in Korea.

Local authorities also make efforts to ensure that foreign workers can integrate and have stable living conditions.

The provincial government said the number of foreign workers working in South Jeolla under the seasonal work system now stands at 3,846.

The system, which began operating in 2017, was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seasonal employment system managed by the province has been effective in overcoming the labor shortage in rural areas.

Việt Nam và Hàn Quốc có nhiều điểm tương đồng về lịch sử, văn hóa

Vietnam and Korea have many similarities in history and culture.

This is the opinion of many experts at the international scientific conference "History and cultural exchange between Vietnam and Korea" recently organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the Korean National Institute of Historical Research in Hanoi.

Đẩy mạnh quan hệ Đối tác chiến lược toàn diện Việt Nam - Hàn Quốc

Promoting the Vietnam - Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

During his official visit to South Korea, on May 31, at the Government Complex, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son met with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The two sides agreed to promote the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

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