Why South Korea and Japan are slowly learning to accept foreign workers
- Falling birth rates and economic jitters are prompting insular South Korea and Japan to open their doors to migrants
- But with popular resistance to immigration lingering, they face an uphill struggle to compete with expat hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong
Hong Kong entrepreneur Matthew Wong did not go it alone when he launched Flint at work, an app that connects travellers with popular restaurants and cafes. The South Korean government was there to lend a hand.
Selected from more than 1,700 global applicants, participants spend 14 weeks in South Korea, with access to state-of-the-art R&D facilities, funds to cover expenses, free legal assistance and mentoring, and networking opportunities with some of the country’s biggest tech companies, including the likes of Samsung and LG Electronics.
The best among the participants receive additional funding and prize money, and are encouraged to establish their companies in South Korea.
“The programme is like a big helpdesk for the teams, or a one-stop centre for business set-up and development,” said Wong.
The start-up competition is among a raft of schemes launched by traditionally insular South Korea in recent years to attract global talent and investments, as a hedge against an uncertain economic outlook stemming from the country’s rock-bottom birth rates and dependence on a few corporate giants.