There are people waiting in line overnight to pay the Korean EPS-TOPIK exam fee in front of Panglong Hall in North Dagon Township.
"They have been queuing up since 5 pm on March 20 to register on March 21. I think there are about 300 people," said a person waiting to deposit money on the evening of March 20.
A student who will take the EPS said, “They have been waiting in line since yesterday evening to enroll today. I think they are sleeping there. The reason they are queuing up because there was a software problem during the exam form submission process, so the payment number was a bit late, but if you queue up early and make an early deposit, I think they queue up early because they think they want to get a seat number early.”
Those who have submitted an application form for the examination will have to pay the examination fee at a fixed amount per day starting from March 19. On March 19, the government's foreign employment agency announced that all girls who will enter the service industry will have to submit their application.
After that, people enrolled in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and livestock industries will have to submit their application in specific dates and the specified payment number.
The exam fee to be paid is 28 US dollars, which can also be paid in Myanmar currency.
For the 16th Korean Proficiency Test (EPS-TOPIK), a total of 74,000 people took the test, which is more than double the number in 2023 EPS exam.
A person who will take the exam said, “This year is a record year. Only more than 30,000 applicants sat for production, construction, agriculture and livestock industries in last year exam. This year, it has more than doubled. It is not easy to pass the exam. And this year, we only have to take the skills test, which is a basic skill test. It will take a lot of effort to succeed.”
He said that the application for the examination form was submitted from March 4 to 10, and there was some difficulty in submitting the form online.
"When I submitted the exam form, I had to do it over the phone, so there was a little difficulty. I have also experienced things like I can't add pictures or I am not being able to press the button again," he said.
It is reported that the recruitment of women in the service industry to work in South Korea has also started this year.
The date and time of the 16th Korean Proficiency Test (EPS-TOPIK) will be announced on April 17, and the exam will be held once from April 24 to May 10 and from May 20 to July 26 again. The results of the exam will be published between May 17 and August 5. The schedule may change depending on the number of respondents.
According to the Ministry of Labour, about 11,000 Myanmar workers will be sent to South Korea in 2024 through the EPS system.
In 2023, the government foreign employment agency of the Department of Labour is sending workers to South Korea using the EPS system. It is reported that 10,611 people have been sent to production, agriculture, livestock and construction industries, and about 11,000 will be selected and sent as labour recruitment quota for Myanmar in 2024.
Ministry of Labour of Myanmar and Ministry of Employment and Labour of South Korea have implemented the Point System for Recruitment of Foreign Workers in Myanmar since 2016.
