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Labor ministry awards 5 migrant workers for their rise to success
Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik gives his welcome speech during an event at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotels and Residences, Wednesday. The ministry invited foreign workers who had returned home after working in Korea under the Employment Permit System, to share their success stories. Courtesy of Ministry of Employment and Labor
By Jun Ji-hye
Migrant workers with success stories become role models for those who set sights on Korea
The Ministry of Employment and Labor, together with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, invited 15 foreign workers who had returned to their home countries after working in Korea under the Employment Permit System (EPS). Five of them were awarded for representing successful cases based on their work experiences here, the ministry said, Wednesday.
The EPS is a migration labor program, under which workers from 16 Asian countries — the Philippines, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Myanmar, East Timor and Laos — are allowed to work in Korea with E-9 nonprofessional employment visas.
The ministry said the invitation event was prepared to share stories of migrant workers who have successfully settled down after returning to their home countries after having worked in Korea under the EPS.
The EPS, which began in 2004 to address manpower shortages of small- and medium-sized companies, will mark the 20th anniversary of its implementation next year. So far, about 940,000 workers have entered Korea to work under that system.
“The migrant workers with successful stories set a good example for those who are currently working in Korea as well as those who are hoping to enter Korea,” Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik said during his welcome speech.
During the event, Lee presented the highest award to Vietnamese worker Vu Van Giap, who had worked in the fishery sector in Korea from 2006 to 2011, and established his own business after returning to his home country.
The event co-hosted by Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea takes place at the Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotels and Residences, Wednesday. The ministry invited foreign workers who had returned home after working in Korea under the Employment Permit System, to share their success stories. Courtesy of Ministry of Employment and Labor
Vu Van Giap said he got to know about the EPS while he was eager to overcome poverty.
“I studied so hard to pass the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) and managed to enter Korea as a fishery worker in 2006,” he said.
“In my first workplace, I was on a fishing boat to catch octopuses. It was so cold and my hands were freezing. It was hard, but I put up with it by thinking about my mother and grandmother in Vietnam.”
After a year, Vu Van Giap was hired by an oyster farming company, where he invented an oyster cleaner that was capable of replacing three human workers. He has since invented several more machines, and as the result of his constant efforts, his employer increased his monthly salary.
“My parents could build a new house and buy land in my hometown,” he said. “My employer — the Korean couple — treated me as if I was their adopted son and helped me acquire Korean citizenship,” he said.
“But I had to return to Vietnam without acquiring Korean citizenship because my length of stay was not sufficient. I had the most valuable time in my life in Korea thanks to the warm hearts of my employer and colleagues,” he added.
After returning to Vietnam, he was hired by a Korean company specializing in industrial machines. The Human Resources Development Service of Korea helped him find that job under its employment intermediation program for migrant workers retuning home.
After working for that company from 2012 to 2019, he eventually established his own business in 2019 that manufactures conveyor belts and other various products.
“At first, there were only five workers in my company, and annual sales stood only at $120,000,” he said. “I slept only for two to three hours a day and continued to produce samples. After four months, I saw rapidly increasing orders, and after five years of the establishment, my company now has 30 workers and annual sales of $620,000.”
His company has become a partner not only with Vietnamese firms but also with top Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
“I want to express my gratitude to Korea’s labor ministry and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea,” he said. “I hope more Vietnamese workers can go to Korea and get jobs there, and develop themselves based on those experiences.”
Four other prizewinners were Kasno from Indonesia, who became a director for one of the leading companies in his home country after working in Korea from 2006 to 2012, and Soun Vireak from Cambodia, who became a Korean language teacher after working in Korea from 2010 to 2015.
Avon Domalaon from the Philippines, who worked in Korea from 2006 to 2012, currently serves as a deputy mayor of Sorsogon City, while Sampath from Sri Lanka, who worked here from 2005 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2016, operates his own business.
Later in the day, Minister Lee held a meeting with the migrant workers and discussed how the EPS can be developed.
The ministry said that the invitation event will run until Friday, during which time the workers will be provided opportunities to explore Korea’s culture.