KATHMANDU, Jan 10: For thousands of Nepali youths, passing the Korean language test is often seen as a ticket to employment in South Korea. However, the Employment Permit System (EPS) Section has clarified that clearing the language exam alone does not automatically ensure a job in the country.
According to the EPS Korea Section, not all Nepali candidates who pass the Korean language test are eligible to go to South Korea, as the number of workers demanded by the Korean side is limited. While tens of thousands qualify through the language exam, only a fraction are eventually selected by employers.
As South Korea requests a limited number of workers each year, many candidates who pass the language test remain confined to the roster. In most cases, the number of Nepali applicants passing the test far exceeds the number of workers demanded by South Korean employers.
The EPS Section said all candidates who pass the language test are placed on a roster, but only those selected by employers are allowed to proceed for employment. According to Raj Kishor Sah, spokesperson of the EPS Korea Section under the Department of Foreign Employment, employers select workers from the roster through a computerized system based on specific criteria.
“These criteria include education level, height, weight, age, gender, and sector-specific requirements,” Sah told Republica. “Candidates who fail to meet employers’ requirements are required to remain on the roster. Therefore, it is incorrect to assume that all candidates who pass the Korean language test can go to South Korea.”
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Currently, around 1,000 candidates sit for the Korean language test every day. The exam is conducted in five shifts, with 200 candidates appearing in each shift. On average, about 12 candidates score full marks in each shift—meaning nearly 60 candidates achieve full marks daily.
More than 100,000 applicants apply for the test, and all are allowed to sit for it, resulting in a large number of successful candidates. Under the EPS system, full marks are 40, but candidates scoring 39 or even 38 marks also pass the test. This grading structure further increases the number of successful examinees, the EPS Section said.
Despite this, South Korea’s demand remains limited to around 5,000 to 7,000 workers annually. As a result, even when over 100,000 applicants pass the language test, only a small proportion are eventually selected for employment.
“Passing the Korean language test is only the first step toward employment in South Korea,” Sah said. “The final decision depends entirely on employer selection.”
Two years ago, frustration over prolonged waiting led more than 18,000 youths—who had passed both the language and skills tests and were listed on the roster—to stage protests demanding employment opportunities in South Korea.
According to the EPS Section, among these 18,000 roster-listed youths, 10,088 belong to the manufacturing sector, 4,300 to agriculture, 3,150 to skill-building sectors, and 1,177 to the CBT group—workers who had previously worked in South Korea, returned home, and later passed the language test again.
The EPS Section explained that the CBT group consists of returnee workers whose former employers did not rehire them, leaving them stranded on the roster. The group’s main demand is to be placed with new employers if their previous employers do not select them.
Spokesperson Sah said the CBT group has demanded alternative arrangements to enable them to return to South Korea through new employers. Meanwhile, candidates from agriculture, skill-building, and CBT sectors have also demanded a one-year extension of their roster validity period. As the manufacturing sector still has one year of roster validity remaining, candidates from other sectors are seeking equal treatment.
The EPS Section said these demands have been communicated to the Korean side and that a positive response has already been received. However, it reiterated that because the system is employer-driven, it is not possible to ensure employment for all roster-listed candidates.
The five-point demands raised by over 18,000 youths include extending the roster validity period, allowing sector changes when necessary, ensuring at least one job-matching opportunity, sending more workers than the number requested by Korea, and placing CBT candidates with new employers if their former employers do not select them. The youths argue that prolonged uncertainty despite passing the tests has led to serious financial, mental, and family-related hardships.
EPS officials said most of these demands cannot be addressed by the Nepal government alone. “Passing the Korean language test in Nepal does not guarantee selection by employers,” Sah said. “Since employers choose workers through a computerized system based on their own criteria, there is no assurance that all roster-listed candidates will be selected.”
Nepal is the largest sender of workers to South Korea under the EPS. Nepal and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding on the EPS in 2007, and Nepali workers have been going to South Korea since 2008. Currently, more than 100,000 Nepali workers are employed in South Korea.
According to data from the EPS Korea Section, around 9,200 Nepalis went to South Korea under the EPS in 2024. This figure rose to approximately 11,200 in 2025. However, for thousands of youths still waiting on the roster, the future remains uncertain.
