"Foreign workers in Korea's booming shipyards struggle with high remittances, debt obligations"

...many arrive in Korea already saddled with crushing debt.

According to a survey by Professor Hwang Su-yeon of Geoje University, 24 percent of 466 foreign shipyard workers in Geoje reported paying over 9 million won — and up to 20 million — in recruitment fees. The costs cover brokers, visa processing, airfare, and mandatory language and skills training.

Additional expenses include Korean language and skills training, visa processing and airfare. One foreign worker in his 30s, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he paid $7,500 in fees plus another $1,200 for six months of training costs. Another said he owes 15 million won, while a third estimated his recruitment cost at 10 to 20 million won…

These upfront costs leave foreign workers scrambling to repay debt as soon as they arrive. Hwang’s study found that foreign shipyard workers in Geoje earn an average monthly wage of 2.66 million won. At that rate, it would take nearly 22 months of paying 1 million won per month to repay a 20-million-won debt — roughly half the legal stay period allowed under their visas.

“Starting off 20 million won in debt makes it nearly impossible for workers to spend money locally,”…