With the existence of the memorandum of agreement between the Philippines and South Korea regarding on giving job opportunities to Filipinos, the number of applicants bound for Korea are increasing.

Filipinos may still also apply through authorized agencies. South Korea is still accepting foreign workers since the country’s demand for manpower is high.

Filipino workers may still apply under the Employment Permit System (EPS) where in applicants may apply directly through Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) only. The EPS procedure does not require applicants to pay placement fees but they are required to under go series of examination to determine their qualification.

Registration for the EPS-Korea is also free of charge. Applicants who pass the screening are asked to prepare Php20-30,000 for the following fees:

• Processing Fee- Php4,975
• Pre-departure Training (TESDA/OSHC)- Php2,500
• Air Fare- Php15,000 and up
• Pocket Money- USD150.00

The EPS-Korea applicants are required to undergo and pass the Korean Language Test to measure the applicant’s ability on the Korean language.

According to workabroad.ph, the most of the opportunities in South Korea are factory workers, engineers and entertainers. South Korea’s garment and electronic factories remain stable despite the global financial crisis, most OFW factory workers in Taiwan had shift to South Korea due to the manpower cutting.

Recently, POEA had posted the EPS passers as of October 6, 2009. Click here to view passers. The application under EPS program is continuous, successful applicants are interviewd and screened by direct employers, passers are posted through POEA website.

To view the complete list of other job opportunities in South Korea, click here or visit www.workabroad.ph to view other vacancies (not under EPS program). 

Meantime, POEA warned OFWs against recruiters, agencies or any individual who offer jobs under EPS program and asks for series of fees. Only POEA have the authority to accept applicants only the listed fees above are needed to be paid.