Nguyen Thanh Hung, from Dai Dong commune, Yen Binh district, worked in Japan for nearly six years. After returning home, he registered for a Korean language course with a desire to work in the East Asia country in accordance with the Employment Permit System (EPS) programme.

"I have saved some money at the end of my working term in Japan. I want to work abroad to earn a great deal of money so I continue to look for job opportunities in the RoK,” he said.

Le Duc Anh, who lives in Yen Bai city’s Au Lau commune, said he decided to go to the RoK in the hope that he could save some money to start a business after several years.

In recent years, the RoK is an attractive labour market for many Vietnamese workers in general and Yen Bai in particular. The East Asian nation is a promise land for many workers because its culture and climate are similar to those Vietnam, making it is easier for workers to adapt themselves to.

In addition, the RoK is a developed country, so employees have many jobs and opportunities to learn and improve their skills. The average wage that RoK employers pay to a Vietnamese worker is around 35-50 million VND (1,300-2,150 USD) per month depending on their jobs, while the total costs that workers have to pay to work in that country is quite reasonable compared to others in the region.

While working in RoK, labourers are protected by the laws of their host country and enjoy the basic rights of domestic workers. There are many programmes for foreign workers to choose from.

Regarding the EPS Programme - the cooperation programme between the RoK Ministry of Employment and Labour and the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, only the Centre of Overseas Labour is authorised to run the programme, so its prestige can be secured. However, employees going to work abroad under the programme must meet the requirements of the Korean language and certain conditions. Meanwhile, it is highly competitive as only one person is chosen among 20 while RoK’s annual target for Vietnamese workers is only about 3,000.

Labourers who intend to work in the RoK can obtain technical visa but to be eligible, they need to have relevant diplomas, and this is a big challenge for workers in the locality.

Since the beginning of this year, the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has introduced businesses to localities in the province to recruit workers to work abroad. Nearly 20 labourers have gone abroad, mainly to work in the RoK, Japan and Taiwan.