Many young people who have escaped to Vietnam from Korea's unemployment crisis often come back to Korea.

Recently, universities are encouraging students to work in not only domestic companies, but also in underdeveloped countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. This is because finding a job in foreign countries can sometimes be easier than finding one in Korea. As the youth unemployment rate of young Korean people has exceeded 10%, Korean students regard undeveloped countries such as Vietnam, a place of opportunity for employment. Vietnam these days are a lot like Korea in the 1970s. Vietnam is going through a great economic development which has resulted in creating many jobs in factories. Since the prices in Vietnam are relatively low and the starting salary is much higher compared to Korea, CWNU is supportive of students going abroad to Vietnam for employment. But is going to Vietnam really the best option for the students? Many students wish to work in Vietnam by looking at some cases where they can work with a relaxed life including a high salary. However, it’s not as easy as it seems to be.

First of all, if you want to work in Vietnam, you should be able to speak Vietnamese. Most vocational students who aim to work in Vietnam learn Vietnamese for a short period of less than a year. However, there are young Vietnamese who can speak Korean and Koreans who live in Vietnam, which makes it impossible to beat them in speaking Vietnamese. If you hire a Korean as a manager who does not speak Vietnamese properly, it will be difficult to have smoothe communication with the local people. In addition, young Vietnamese who speak Korean are less than half the labor cost of hiring Koreans. It is necessary to think about who is cost effective from the company's perspective.

Secondly, CWNU promotes employment in Vietnam, saying that an annual salary of over 30 million won is possible when working in Vietnam. However, more than half of the students who work overseas with the support of the government have an average annual salary of 20 million won. Those with an annual salary of 30 million won or more, work six days a week due to the nature of the labor market in Vietnam. In some cases, high salary jobs have frequent night overtime and privacy interventions. Young people who have escaped to Vietnam from Korea's unemployment crisis, often come back to Korea for employment because they couldn’t adjust themselves to the working environment in Vietnam. However, it is unclear whether the work experience in Vietnam will be recognized in Korea.

"Even though the annual salary in Vietnam is 30 million won, I don’t think it is attractive of going to Vietnam for employment. There are priceless things such as friends and family that will be missing in Vietnam. In addition, living abroad may not be fit for someone like me. Students who are thinking about leaving will need to make a careful decision," said Kwon Young-ho (Department of Materials Science & Engineering).

Students who are interested in working in Vietnam should prepare thoroughly and set up clear goals before leaving for Vietnam. It is also important to have a second thought on whether it is the best option to work in Vietnam rather than working in Korea.

By Jeong Seung-In, reporter  samcandothat@naver.com

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