The Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) has launched a comprehensive initiative to equip shipyard welders moving to South Korea with essential Korean language skills and cultural insights, to ensure smooth settlement in their new work environment.
“In the coming year, approximately 100 welding professionals from India, recruited by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., are set to embark on their Korean journey, marking the second instance of such employment since India’s initial contribution to Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in April,” the Centre said in a statement.
Accordingly, the KCCI and Kangsung Global, which is conducting a manpower dispatch project targeting Korean shipbuilding companies, is holding Korean language and Korean culture-related classes from August 14 to September 12 to help Indian working professionals settle down in Korea, it stated.
Elaborating further, it said for one month, a total of 52 hours of lectures would be held in two classes three times a week. The classes provide lectures not only on Korean language necessary for work, but also food culture, work culture, and etiquette that are different from those of India. Leading these courses is Harsh Sharma, a seasoned Korean language instructor with a decade of experience at the KCCI.
According to the KCCI, foreign shipyard welding professionals from Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam have been working at Korean shipbuilding sites such as Ulsan and Geoje ever since the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Justice revised E-7 visa issuance guidelines in April 2022.
As per the statement, there are nearly 8,50,000 welders in India, many of whom have worked abroad, including the Middle East, making India an important manpower supplier that can make up for Korea’s shortage of welders.
“We hope that the first learner-centred customized lecture for Indian professionals will greatly help them adapt to the field, and that many excellent Indian shipyard welding professionals will continue to be dispatched. We plan to continue to expand Korean language and culture classes in the future,” Hwang Il-yong, Director of the KCCI, said in the statement.
