EFFORTS TO WORK IN KOREA

[Anchor Lead]

Some 50,000 foreign workers are brought into South Korea annually in order to help ease a shortage of labor force. In Thailand, Korean language institutes are thriving and thousands of local people flock to take Korean tests, reflecting their eager hope to land jobs in Korea.

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A school in Udon Thani, Thailand. It's crowded with people taking a Korean test. These local youths are looking to make use of the foreign worker employment system to get a job in Korea. Across the nation, 7,000 people took a Korean language proficiency test on July 21 alone.

[Soundbite] (THAI SEEKING JOB IN KOREA) : "I want to work in Korea. The Thai economy is not good. I really hope to get a job in Korea."

So far this year, some 24,000 Thais are taking that language test. Those who pass the language test and vocational skills examination can work in Korea for up to four years and ten months.

[Soundbite] KIM JI-YEON(KOREA HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT SERVICE) : "Korean employers prefer Thai workers as they are known to be calm and dedicated."

It used to be difficult to find quality foreign workers. Now, the rate of people competing for job opportunities in Korea stands at three to one. Korean language institutes for Thai people are thriving with few vacancies left. In Thailand, there are more than 100 cram schools for locals preparing to land jobs in Korea.

[Soundbite] (KOREAN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR) : "They study six or seven hours a day and memorize 50 Korean expressions."

Only ten percent of Thai workers who enter Korea through the employment permit system choose to illegally stay in the nation after their job contracts expire. This is far lower than the rate of undocumented Thai workers staying on short-period visas.