Chuncheon to Hire 100 Foreign Workers to Address Farm Labor Shortage

The program hires temporary foreign workers who, after entering South Korea, are sent to local farms to work for 90 days. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)

CHUNCHEON, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province has decided to hire more foreign workers to assist farmers during the farming season after receiving satisfactory feedback from farmers who participated in a similar project this year.

The program hires temporary foreign workers who, after entering South Korea, are sent to local farms to work for 90 days. Workers depart from the country as soon as their contract expires.

Chuncheon, in cooperation with the Province of Batangas in the Philippines, first implemented the three-month employment program for foreigners early this year to resolve labor shortages at local farms, inviting a total of 107 workers from the Philippines to work at 70 local farms over two consecutive rounds of the program.

The Filipino workers received 1.69 million won (US$1,500) per month for working 8 hours per day. Asked about their experience working with foreigners, over 82 percent of the farmers said they were satisfied.

Another 93 percent said the program had helped resolve labor shortages, and 98 percent wanted the program to continue next year.

Based on the feedback, Chuncheon decided to hire 100 foreign workers beginning next April to be sent to farms in need of assistance.

“Farmers were very satisfied with the workers for their diligence,” said a source from the Chuncheon city government.

“The program will help resolve labor shortages at farms, which is a critical reason for deciding to continue the program next year.”

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)