I have to wonder what job these two Filipinas were illegally working at in Busan?:
Two Filipinas, who were apprehended after leaving the Seoul metropolitan government’s pilot program for foreign domestic helpers without permission, have returned home, the South Korean justice ministry said Monday.
The workers were forced to leave Thursday following several weeks of unauthorized absence from their jobs, according to the ministry.
They reportedly did not contest the immigration authority’s notification of deportation and expressed a desire to return home during the investigation.
After their departure, the workers were banned from reentering South Korea for a specified period.
They arrived in South Korea on Aug. 6 as part of a six-month project led by the Seoul city government to assign foreign nannies to households with kids or newborns to help with child care and housework, and began working on Sept. 3 after about a month of training.
They, however, left their quarters on Sept. 15, the second day of a five-day Chuseok holiday. They were supposed to return to work by Sept. 18 but did not.
The Busan immigration office and police found they illegally got jobs in Busan and arrested them at their residences early this month.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like Korean companies will be busy in the coming years supporting infrastructure upgrades in the Philippines:
South Korea signed an agreement Monday to provide US$2 billion in financial assistance to the Philippines to support major infrastructure projects during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the nation, Yoon’s office said.
The finance ministry signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Manila to offer the assistance through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), the low-rate loan program to support infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Under the agreement, the Seoul government will allocate $905 million worth of EDCF funds for the construction of the first section of the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network, which spans 37.5 kilometers of roads and embankments along Laguna Lake, near Manila.
Additionally, $1 billion will be allocated for the construction of a 13-km bridge connecting the three central Philippine islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.
It marks the largest EDCF project with the Southeast Asian nation. Bidding for these projects will be open to South Korean companies.
You can read more at the link, but Asian countries should probably look more to Korea or Japan for economic assistance rather than China. When China gives out economic assistance they try to bury countries into debt traps to get major concessions out them such hosting military bases or cutting ties with China.
The Philippines sent an entire battalion that saw heavy combat during the Korean War:
President Yoon Suk Yeol began his state visit to the Philippines on Sunday by honoring fallen soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War and meeting with Korean nationals in the nation.
Yoon visited the Korean War Memorial Pylon at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila with first lady Kim Keon Hee on the first day of his two-day trip focused on strengthening economic and security ties.
“South Korea and the Philippines have maintained close, friendly relations, and the Philippines was the first country in Asia and the fifth in the world to establish diplomatic ties with us back in 1949,” Yoon said in a meeting with Korean nationals in Manila.
The Philippines dispatched around 7,400 troops to the Korean War to help defend South Korea, with 112 soldiers killed and 299 wounded.
You can read more at the link. You can also read more about the Philippines’ PEFTOK battalion that served during the Korean War at the below link:
I had said before that the Filipina caregivers will likely be hired by people who already have caregivers in order to save money. It appears that is what is happening:
Nearly four out of 10 households in Seoul that will hire Filipino caregivers starting in September are located in the affluent southern parts of the capital, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Wednesday.
The hiring of Filipino caregivers by parents in affluent areas under the government’s pilot program aimed at addressing the nation’s low birthrate suggests the initiative may not fully meet its expectations. This trend indicates that the program, intended to offer affordable support through foreign caregivers, might not be effectively reaching all parents as initially hoped.
You can read more at the link, but something I did not anticipate is that people hiring these Filipina caregivers are also using them as in-house English teachers for their kids.
