Thailand’s ‘little ghosts’ in South Korea use Facebook to find jobs and work there illegally

Lured by higher wages, tens of thousands of Thais are flocking to South Korea to take up manual work in farms and factories

They share tips online on how to get jobs in the country, where 143,000 out of 165,000 Thais work illegally

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A labour shortage has allowed workers from countries in Southeast Asia to find jobs in South Korea’s auto-parts factories. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 3 Jul 2019Updated: 8:22pm, 3 Jul 2019

Sureerat Noenpap, 37, works as a motorcycle taxi driver in Bangkok. Her two daughters are set to attend university in a couple of years, but the Thai mum – who earns little more than 10,000 baht (US$325) a month – knows she will not be able to afford it.

This is why she has spent months preparing for a Korean language test, which is part of the Employment Permit System (EPS), a programme coordinated by authorities in Thailand and South Korea to recruit Thai nationals to work in the East Asian country.

Sureerat is determined to pass the test, which will take place this month. She has spent around 15,000 baht on a Korean language course at a private school, which allows her to take unlimited classes there until she passes.

She is looking to apply for a farming job as it might increase her chances of being recruited. “I heard Korean factories do not usually recruit female workers, even though a job at a farm pays less,” she said.

Informed by the stories and experiences of thousands of Thais who have travelled to South Korea to work in recent years, Sureerat spent her free time collecting as much information as possible from online sources on how and where to find work in the country.

By checking out Facebook accounts of Thai workers there, she learned about interview tips at the airport immigration for Thais, how Thai workers in South Korea go about their daily life and send money home, and the illegal way of overstaying to work.