There is no explanation for today’s Vietnamese citizens silently trying to leave their home country, go and live temporarily or forever in a foreign land. The lines of disparaging news about this line of people in the state press revolved around the theme of “materialistic, delusional people” to “love of light work, high salary”… But there is really no research. What science or the research, analysis of arguments and social impacts why those young people keep leaving, despite on the world map Vietnam is always considered one of the most developing countries.
The latest news of October 2022 said that about 100 Vietnamese people lost contact after entering Korea during a trip through Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province. After the incident, airlines and related travel agencies had to temporarily stop bringing Vietnamese tourists to Yangyang, Gangwon Province until the end of October.
Although not officially confessed, the statement of the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea said that it had contacted the local authorities to investigate and find out the incident. At the same time, this diplomatic mission said it will coordinate with local agencies in the country, and travel companies in Vietnam to find out information about citizens who have lost contact, and implement mitigation measures to prevent Vietnamese people from taking advantage of tourism to find ways to stay in Korea illegally.
Previously, the situation of workers coming to South Korea to work and then staying and staying illegally is increasing. In early September this year, the Korea Herald, citing sources from the Korea Immigration Service (Korea Immigration Service), published statistics showing that, as of July, a total of 395,068 foreigners are residing illegally, accounting for 19% of the country’s total foreign population of over two million. This number, up 4,655 from a year earlier, is the highest number since September 2020, when the country estimated the total number of illegal immigrants at 396,728.
Korea does not release an official figure on the number of Vietnamese who stay and work illegally in Korea – possibly because of diplomatic sensitivities – but thousands are reliable numbers. Worth mentioning, most of the people who escaped to stay in Korea were mostly from the North or the North Central regions of Vietnam.
Since 2016, South Korea has told Vietnam the reason for suspending visas for Vietnamese people, is because Nghe An is the North Central province topping the list of provinces with 1,454 Vietnamese workers staying illegally in the country after labor contracts ended. Hanoi ranks second with 948 people currently hiding from the list. Hai Duong (853), Thanh Hoa (823), and Nam Dinh (733), all of which are northern provinces, and here are the top five Vietnamese localities with the most illegal residents in South Korea.
Many lines in South Korea cooperate to bring illegal workers to places where local firms need labor. “South Korean people are still accepting illegal foreign workers in the local job market because of the need, especially in the agricultural sector, where farmers are understaffed. Many local farmers are forced to hire these illegal immigrants,” said Kim Do-Kyun, a professor at Cheju Halla University specializing in immigration policy. And that’s why there are so many Vietnamese, Thai, Filipino… going to Korea, just got off the plane and suddenly lost contact: they bought a place to work in advance and were picked up right away. when walking out of customs.
In the English version of VnExpress, there is a talk about the departure of the northern people at this time. The simple explanation is “a new stable and long-term life and salary that can save for one’s life and support the whole family.”
The article titled Why Vietnamese students end up working in South Korea reveals that going and work in Korea like that, a person has to prepare from the beginning with about VND200 million ($8,000). Due to earning more money than in Vietnam, many people choose to overstay their visas – even extend their stay in Korea indefinitely. For example, Tung, a character described in the article, earned $2,500-4,000 a month, 10 times the average monthly income of workers in Vietnam. With a high school diploma, Tung could not have dreamed of earning as much in Vietnam, where the salary of new college graduates is only about $250.
Despite the brilliant indicators Hanoi still presents to the world, in fact, more than 10% of Vietnam’s 95 million people live in poverty, sometimes in “extreme poverty,” Economist IHS Markit Asia Pacific Chief Rajiv Biswas said. Mr. Biswas also expressed his helplessness when it comes to the poverty of mountainous areas and those far from urban areas because the problem of focusing on urban development as a lack of strategy is too great.
The salary of a Vietnamese worker is currently just under $200 per month, so when you know for sure, it is difficult to raise your voice to disparage the miserable Vietnamese that is why you choose to leave, looking for an opportunity “light work – high salary” in a foreign country. Not only that, the lines that send Vietnamese people to work outside – including the silent participation of State officials – still call for jobs in factories in Russia, construction work in Libya, and hiring on British farms.
And with hope for a brighter life, they leave.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
