By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Many foreign workers with E-9 visas here have had some form of college education or higher, according to "Foreign Workers Adaptation to Another Culture," a thesis published by Dongguk University, Sunday.
Korean employers put the most weight on an individual's abilities and their Korean language proficiency in the recruitment process and preferred Mongolians over other nationalities, the report said.
The author, Yu Seung-kyun, interviewed 401 foreign workers from China, the Philippines, Mongolia and Uzbekistan as well as 70 employers in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.
He found 49.1 percent of the workers were enrolled or had dropped out of universities. About 15.2 percent had graduated from universities and 6.2 percent had master's degrees. Those who had received less than a high school education made up a mere 6 percent.
The younger they were, the more they intended to work in Korea to "broaden their experience" and make money to pursue their academic careers, the author found.
Most Korean employers with foreign staff said they hire foreigners because they could not get Korean workers. After Mongolians, ethnic Koreans from China and Chinese people were preferred.
Yu said, "In general, Filipinos are positive and outgoing, which helps them mingle with Korean co-workers. Mongolians have a unique way of settling in a country, based on their nomadic lifestyle. Uzbekistanis are fluent in the Korean language, which attracts Korean employers." He added, "Chinese people have their own know-how in getting adjusted to Korean culture."
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