Labour Migration Corridor
Nepal → Korea (EPS)
The Nepal-Korea corridor operates almost entirely through the Employment Permit System, or EPS, a government-to-government scheme that channels Nepali workers into manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and construction roles across the Republic of Korea. Unlike the largely privately intermediated recruitment common in other corridors, EPS places recruitment, testing and matching functions primarily in the hands of public agencies in both countries, significantly reducing the role of private recruitment agents and, with it, much of the recruitment-fee risk seen elsewhere.
Demand for EPS places among Nepali workers is very high relative to the limited annual quota Korea allocates to Nepal, reflecting the corridor's comparatively strong wages, structured legal protections, and clear, fee-limited application process. Selection is based on a standardised Korean language test and a skills or aptitude assessment, followed by an employer-matching process managed through the public agencies rather than direct private hiring, making this one of the more transparent and closely regulated corridors Nepali workers can access.
Workers who succeed in the EPS process typically work in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, though agriculture, fishing and construction placements are also significant, particularly in provincial areas. The structured nature of the scheme means wages and core conditions are generally more predictable than in other corridors, though workers still face a demanding language and cultural adjustment, and provincial placements can mean more limited access to community and consular support compared with workers based in Seoul.
ILSI's role in this corridor focuses on pre-departure Korean-language and workplace-orientation support, contract literacy, and helpline access for workers navigating disputes, workplace injury, or the process of transferring employer within the rules the EPS scheme allows.
Legal framework
Selection into the EPS scheme begins with a Nepal-side process coordinated by Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment, involving a standardised Korean-language proficiency test and skills assessment. Workers who pass are placed into a worker pool from which Korean employers, through Korea's public employment service structures, select candidates for specific job openings, rather than workers applying to individual employers directly as in most other corridors.
Once matched, EPS workers are employed under a labour contract subject to Korean labour law, which sets out minimum wage, working hours, industrial accident insurance and social insurance obligations applicable to foreign and domestic workers alike, with some scheme-specific provisions covering permitted employer changes and contract renewal. EPS employment periods are fixed-term, with defined rules on renewal and the number of times a worker may change employer, which are more restrictive than an open labour market but are also clearly documented compared with informally negotiated overseas contracts.
Because EPS quotas, language test requirements and permitted employer-change rules are reviewed periodically by the Korean and Nepali governments, workers and prospective applicants should confirm current requirements with Nepal's Department of Foreign Employment or the Human Resources Development Service structures supporting the scheme before beginning the application process.
Key risks
Because EPS is a structured, government-to-government scheme, the corridor carries a lower documented risk of recruitment fee abuse and contract substitution than privately intermediated corridors. However, workers still report challenges including workplace injury in manufacturing and construction settings, particularly for workers with limited Korean language ability who may not fully understand safety instructions. Provincial manufacturing and agricultural placements can also mean more limited access to Nepali-speaking support networks and consular services compared with Seoul-based placements.
Some workers report difficulty exercising the limited employer-change rights available under the scheme when workplace conditions are poor, since the number of permitted changes is capped and administrative processes can be slow. Long working hours, particularly in small manufacturing enterprises during peak production periods, are periodically raised as a concern, alongside social isolation for workers placed in more remote provincial locations. Fraudulent test-preparation or "guaranteed placement" schemes targeting EPS applicants in Nepal, despite the formal process being free of charge for the core application, are also a recurring scam pattern.
ILSI's helpline and orientation work in this corridor focuses on workplace safety literacy in Korean-language contexts, honest information about the real EPS application process to counter fraudulent intermediaries, and support for workers navigating the employer-change process where genuinely needed.
Indicative wage data
| Sector | Typical Range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing (small and medium enterprises) | Indicative range, generally the highest average of ILSI's four pilot corridors | Subject to Korea's statutory minimum wage, which is reviewed annually. |
| Agriculture and fisheries | Indicative range, can involve seasonal variation in hours | Provincial placements; accommodation is often provided by the employer and should be confirmed in the contract. |
| Construction | Indicative range, broadly comparable to manufacturing | Subject to industrial accident insurance coverage under Korean law. |