A Thai man recounted his nightmarish stay in Korea to a local wire service, Tuesday.
According to Yonhap, the 29-year-old came to Korea in June eager to realize his ‘Korean dream’ after his relative hinted that one could make a fortune by working here.
The man is to return to his native land with empty pockets, after two months of fruitless labor on the local chicken farms.
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(Yonhap) |
The journey has only benefited the brokers who connected him to the jobs, the man claimed.
The man said he was initially promised by the broker in Thailand a monthly wage of 38,000 baht in Korea, which is 1.3 million won ($1,150), much more than what the average Thai makes in Thailand. According to sources, the monthly average pay in Thailand is 8,800 baht ($254) for 8 hours’ daily work. College graduates earn an average of 15,000 baht.
The man paid the broker a fee of 8,800 baht, an equivalent of a month’s wage for him, believing he would make up for it with what he would make in Korea.
After entering Korea, he was led by a second broker to a chicken farm in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. There, he was tasked to individually give vaccination shots to some 5,000 chicks and chickens every day for about 12 hours.
At the end of the first month, he was paid 890,000 won ($780), a smaller sum than what was originally promised. When he protested, the farm owner replied he can’t give the whole sum as there are too many Thai people running away without completing the contract period and that the remaining pay will be given once the man finishes the six months of work.
The man claimed he had never been briefed on the six-month restriction period. He ran away with four other Thai workers on the farm, thinking they wouldn’t be fairly treated for the rest of their stay.
His broker in Korea once again introduced him to another farm in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, at an extra fee of 300,000 won. On the farm, he was pressured to engage in hard labor for three days and was subject to monitoring at his quarters. As he became afraid about his working conditions, he quit the job with just three days of pay.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (
kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)
