By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Korea aims to send 50,000 youths to foreign countries, including Germany and Ireland, under the working holiday program in an annual government plan.
So far, Korea has signed an agreement with five countries to help youngsters undertake work and visit programs. From this year, 2,000 South Korean students, aged 18-30, will stay in France for one year.
The program is proving popular amid the tight job market.
A total of 156,000 Koreans visited Australia in 2008 under the initiative, with the number expected to rise by 2,000 this year, according to the Australian Tourism Commission.
Selection is under way for WEST (Work, English Study and Travel) applicants, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Under the exchange program, 300 students will be selected as part of a pilot project in March for a visit to the United States. The number will expand to around 1,000 in July and August.
Participants on the 18-month program will study English for five months, a language learning program that will be followed by a year-long internship and one-month of travel.
Meanwhile, the government also plans to finalize the free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union in the first quarter of the year and seal an FTA with India. Korea and India reached a broad consensus on the FTA in principle last September.
Korea also is moving to strike FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Turkey and Colombia.