Goheung-gun Solves Shortage of Agricultural and Fishing Village Labor with Seasonal Workers

MOU Signed with Philippine City Penaranda for Seasonal Workers

High Satisfaction and Positive Response from Seasonal Workers and Farmers

Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced that it is effectively addressing the high wages and labor shortages during the busy farming season through a seasonal labor MOU with the city of Pe?aranda in the Philippines, amid complaints from farmers and fishermen about difficulties in producing agricultural and marine products due to a lack of manpower in the agricultural and fishery fields.

Foreign seasonal workers can be assigned based on the applicant farm's choice of allocation method, including entry through the MOU agreement, invitation of relatives who are marriage immigrants, or employment of foreigners residing in Korea. Applications from farms participating in the foreign seasonal worker program are accepted sequentially in December of the previous year for the first half of the year and in June for the second half of the year.

Group photo of Filipino seasonal workers last year [Photo provided by Goheung-gun]

In fact, after Goheung-gun and Pe?aranda city in the Philippines signed the labor MOU, the supply of labor has increased every year, with about 1,000 workers rotating annually, and the response and satisfaction of farming and fishing households are also reported to be high.

Kim Sun-ho, a farmer in Dodeok-myeon, Goheung-gun, said, “We apply for seasonal workers from Pe?aranda, Philippines every year, which greatly helps during the busy farming season. Without seasonal workers, agricultural production would face significant setbacks.” He added, “Continuous and systematic management of seasonal workers is necessary.”

A county official stated, “With freer overseas entry and exit, the foreign seasonal worker program is expected to become more active. We will strive to allocate more workers to farms and fisheries in a timely manner and strengthen follow-up management, including education on compliance for employing farms, to prevent workers from leaving.”

Goheung = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shim Jeong-woo hss79@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.