In connection with the incredible “increase” in the standard of living of Russians in recent months, many of our compatriots increasingly began to pay attention to the possibility of earning money in South Korea. Is it worth going there? Definitely yes. For those in need of money, this is a good way to earn one and a half to two hundred thousand in a couple of months, for young people just to see another world, practically for free.

Korea is a completely different world, a different standard of living and a different mentality. Firstly, this is the level of security. Even in multimillion-dollar Seoul, you will feel completely calm both day and night. In smaller cities, it is still customary not to lock cars at all or leave them with the windows down and go to the store, for example. Which sounds quite strange to us. On the first night, I literally had to spend the night on a bench in a small park and I didn’t feel the slightest anxiety. Even the drinking company was absolutely harmless. By the way, yes. Koreans love to drink. Any day of the week, for any reason or just during lunch break. A drunken Korean sleeping on the street does not cause any reaction from passers-by. My hotel was located opposite the hospital and I often saw patients in pajamas buying alcohol from a nearby store. They drank right there on the sidewalk.

Koreans are quite responsive and many will try to help you if, for example, you get lost. One day, my friend couldn’t find a pharmacy for a long time and went to the police station to ask for directions. So they assigned him a policeman who took him to the pharmacy.

Where should I start? Preferably from the tongue. Although this is not really necessary, a couple of dozen words will make life much easier. You should not rely on knowledge of English. Most Koreans do not speak English, except young people in large cities like Seoul and Busan. But in the metro and buses, the names of stations are duplicated in English.

The first thing to remember is the score. You will have to count constantly. The rest is possible without knowing the language. Knowing the language will help you at work. It is easier for an employer to communicate with such an employee and it is quite possible to get easier work and more pay. In addition, knowledge of the language does not tie you to a specific employer. If the job does not suit you, you can easily find another one yourself. Even in another city. Korea is very compact and traveling from end to end will take a maximum of five hours by bus. Sometimes it is completely unclear when one city ended and another began.

It is worth dispelling the myth about the hard work of Koreans. No, they are the same people and will relax at every opportunity. Although your working day will last 10-13 hours, sometimes you will actually work less. The rest of the time will be spent sleeping, smoking breaks, talking, and traveling. But not in the field or in production. Hired Koreans are generally not eager to work their ass off at work; they often procrastinate and work carelessly. Finishing a project ahead of schedule means losing money, since the payment is hourly. There were cases when they themselves asked me to work slower. But there’s no need to drag it out frankly. The employer may simply not hire you next time.

There are several options for finding a job in Korea. Each has its own pros and cons. The easiest and most expensive way is to contact a company in Russia that provides employment. According to rumors, the cost of their services is 200-250 dollars. I haven’t contacted them myself, so I can’t say anything in detail.

The second option is to come yourself and find a person who will employ you for a fee. The cost of their services is about 100-150 thousand won. Some offer a settlement of 100 dollars or won, depending on your preference. Of course, it’s cheaper in won. There are quite a few of our fellow countrymen in Korea who do exactly this. There are several chats on Viber where fellow countrymen help with job placement. As a rule, they look for vacancies through advertisements, call the sajjan and agree on the employee. Sajan (respectfully Sajan-nim is something like an owner, employer, business owner. Even if he is not one, you should address him that way. In general, any owner, master or chief at work will be called by you like that.) Next you will be given an address and you will go to it yourself. In the best case, you will be met at the airport and put on a bus. Usually these are those who live in Seoul. If you pay for the fare, you may be met from other cities. Then you can get to the place on your own, by taxi. Any questions regarding living arrangements, salaries, etc. can also be resolved through the person who sent you. Some take your fee immediately, some only after you receive your first salary. Discuss this issue right away. The second option, of course, will be more convenient, but many then try to cheat those who arranged for them.

And finally, look for a job on your own. This is more suitable for those who are traveling not for the first time. There are companies in Korea (Samushili. Although any company is Samushili) that offer one-day work (arbeit). The idea is that the applicant comes to Samushil, signs up, and if he’s lucky, he gets hired. Bake pies, remove garbage, water the beds, work on the belt in the factory. In short, if somewhere there is a shortage of workers, a factory or any private owner turns to samushil, where they provide him with workers. You can also find regular work at Samushila. Some factories do not hire permanent workers, but bring guest workers from Samushili from shift to shift. If you are lucky, you manage and regularly attend the same samushil, then you will go to one job as if it were a permanent one. Through Samushil you can meet a private owner who often needs workers. If you agree, he will take only you. With good work and friendly communication, you can get a good increase in your fee. The main advantage is that you will not be tied to the employer, as well as to working week. You can take a day off at any time. There will also be an opportunity to work at different jobs, rather than being stuck at one machine for two months. The downside is that sometimes there may be no work for several days. However, this option requires knowledge of at least a few phrases and words, orientation in the city and in transport, since they can be taken to a neighboring city, but you may have to get back yourself. You will also have to pay for housing yourself.

There are a lot of people who want to work in Korea. And not only Russians. There are a lot of Uzbeks, to which were added Uzbeks who previously worked in Russia. Many of them speak Korean well, have visas, and they will often be given preference when choosing a worker. They live there for years, with their families and often entire neighborhoods. A migrant worker is easily identified by having a backpack on his back. They are worn either by schoolchildren or gasters. In Uzbek neighborhoods you can connect a SIM card to your international passport, eat meat and buy necessary things.

As for the works, although they are different at first glance, in reality the differences are minimal. Men will have to constantly carry something heavy, women will have to collect or clean. Exception plant or factory. There is mostly work at the machine or transport belt. Not physically difficult, but very tedious and requires perseverance and attention. The main advantage of working at a factory on a permanent basis is that there is always work. Regardless of the weather and time of year, you will have to get up early in the morning and go to the machine. The plant usually provides housing, either an apartment or a dormitory. Three or four of them live, the cost is deducted from the salary. There are enough countrymen or simply Russian speakers. Especially in Greater Kwaju at the refrigerator factories. Sometimes it seems that every second Buryat lives there.

Working in the field is one of the hardest options. Heat, stuffiness, humidity and sun. There is either the collection of vegetables and fruits or the construction of greenhouses. Don't be fooled by greenhouses. This is not what you saw in your gardens. These are huge hangars made of metal pipes and polyethylene.

Carrying these pipes and digging them in is precisely what is meant by the construction of greenhouses. I was not at the harvest. As far as I know from stories, payment there depends on the fulfillment of the plan.

On a construction site there is also only unskilled labor. Carrying building materials, mixing solutions. Over time, as in any other work, depending on success, more delicate work with tools is entrusted.

The average income of an illegal migrant worker is 1,700-200 thousand won per month. (about 100 rubles per month). Women have twenty percent less. Jobs that pay above this amount are quite difficult and difficult to find. The tariff per shift at the factory is quite small, in the field it is higher. The total amount ends up being approximately the same. But at the factory you will have to work six days a week, and often less often in the field. In the rain and often after the rain, Koreans do not work.

There's a general phobia of rain. They are like sugar, they can run away from a light rain, covering their heads with everything that comes to hand. Once I happened to see a girl covering her head with a smartphone. At the same time, this is an additional day off. You can safely drink soji (Korean vodka 16.9%), which many of them happily do.

Shifts are divided into chugan (day shift) and yagan (night shift). Yagan is paid higher. Let’s say that if an enterprise pays for pig iron 80,000 won, then yagan will be 120,000-130,000 won. Some work only in yagan, but these are those who work through samushili. True, it is worth considering that in some factories the daily wage is small, about 50,000-60,000, so their yagan will cost about 90,000. If someone wants to work on arbeits, then it is worth buying shimbali (construction boots with a metal toe), Without them, many factories won’t hire you. New ones cost about 30-40 thousand won. You can buy it second-hand at a thrift store for a tenner.

Another important point when working at a factory is out. The factory pays wages fixed date and that at least a month should pass from the moment the work begins until the money is paid to you.

Let's say you came to the plant on September 17, and your salary at the plant is on the 25th of each month. So, on September 25, you shouldn’t count on a salary, since a full month has not passed since your job. You will receive the money only on October 25th. And in the second month it’s already December 25th. That is, at the moment when your stay is over and you have to leave. In this case, one of your fellow countrymen will send you money. Or he won’t send it) I know cases when sajans simply did not pay those who left, or calculated a much smaller amount.

So it happens that they cheat on the payment. Not often, but it happens. You won't be able to prove anything. But, fortunately, this rarely happens. Koreans are quite adequate. They will only shout and swear if you really can’t do anything or you don’t understand. (And not understanding, without speaking the language, will happen regularly)). I would especially mention the sajans who work in the fields. They often like to drink, and some of them are inappropriate. But they try not to let go of their hands; they can’t hit. Neither them you, nor you them. It seems that the aggressor receives a hefty fine there. Sometimes you will have to miss work because the sajan is simply too busy. In general, rural life leaves its mark.

Options with permanent work are more suitable for those who go specifically to earn money. And broadening one’s horizons and entertainment come last. It is quite possible that a person will end up on a remote farm and will not really see Korea, except for the airport and the road to it. But he won’t spend money on a bunch of temptations, and the price tag is steep. And some will have to travel all over the country in search of work. It happened that a person arrived at a place, and someone else was already working there. But none of those with whom I worked and communicated experienced a loss. I always managed to find my way and feed myself.

For freer young people, this is a great option to see the world, visit the sea, visit a bunch of wonderful places, virtually free of charge, and even with a small profit. It’s enough to even work two or three times a week to have enough for housing and food.

For example, the cost of staying in a motel (not in Seoul or Busan) is about 10,000 won per day, provided that there are two people staying. One is a little more expensive. Payment is required at least two weeks in advance. Food, beer and cigarettes will cost about 20,000 won a day, if you don’t limit yourself too much.

Since Korea is very small, and the transport network is very developed, you can settle, for example, not in expensive Busan, but in a neighboring town, as I did. The journey to the sea by metro or bus will take an hour and a half. It is worth buying a single pass at any GS25, 7eleven or Lotte store. You can pay using it in a taxi, bus and metro. It is replenished there in the store.

Now the main problem for fellow countrymen when traveling to Korea is going through customs in Seoul. Since August of this year, customs officers began to turn away passengers from flights Ulan-Ude - Seoul, Irkutsk - Seoul without explanation. Return tickets must be purchased at your own expense. I don’t know how they sort passengers, we can only guess what they are assessing appearance, filling out the declaration and behavior in general. If the customs officer does not like the passenger, the poor fellow will be sent to a so-called “interview”, based on the results of which they will decide to let him through or send him home. In most cases, the “interview” ends with returning home. Having a return ticket does not guarantee passage, nor will its absence deny it.

Therefore, it is worth preparing in advance, reading about the sights of Korea, finding out about major events taking place, coming up with a route, learning a couple of phrases in Korean and, preferably, communicating well in English and not rushing around at the reception desk, looking like a tourist. No need to carry work clothes and shoes with you in your bag. The flight from Ulan-Ude is the most dangerous in this regard, so it is better to fly generally through Vladivostok. Have enough money with you: five hundred bucks. I actually had three hundred. At the airport it’s worth changing a hundred, no more, just for current expenses. The course there is not favorable.

Guest worker Bator especially for “Republic”

I have experienced the vicissitudes of illegal workers. But first I turned to an employment agency in South Korea, which is located in Ulan-Ude.

There I was briefed and sent to my agent in South Korea. I went “visa-free” for two months. In addition, the South Korean consulate in Irkutsk assured me over the phone that it is not necessary to obtain a three-month visa for the media. Among illegal immigrants, employment agents are called intermediaries.

Various "arbeit"

My intermediary sent me and our fellow countrywoman to an “arbeit” in one of the country’s industrial zones. There we were met by another intermediary, a Chinese. He moved us into an apartment, which in their own way they call “wonroom”. The apartment turned out to be nice and cozy. Our work shift began the next day.

What is "arbeit"? These are offices and employment exchanges that provide work to foreigners with a work visa. Local Koreans are called Hanguk. Arbeit offers its hanguks work in various plants, factories, and fields. The Russians compete with the Malaysians, Chinese, and Mongols. There are many industrial zones in South Korea, where plants and factories with different types of production are concentrated. Therefore, one day you can go to a cosmetics factory packing creams, and on the second you will have to pluck ducks in a refrigeration department at another factory.

I worked one day in greenhouses, collecting weeds from the roots of ginseng. I was given my first salary of 55,000 won (approximately 2,700 rubles). And the next day I was already packing canned food at a meat processing plant. This is quite hard work, as I had to lift heavy boxes. Then, through great connections, I got a job as a bookkeeper at a factory producing soft drinks and coffee. These products, according to the Koreans, were exported to Japan. I wrote down the pallet numbers on forms and glued them. During the night shift I monitored the production of plastic bottles.

However, work at this plant ended. And again I found myself on a package of creams. The whole day I stood next to the Korean woman and plugged the “yellow bananas” with plugs. My partner poured cream into them from a huge vat using her machine. Then we managed to visit factories for packaging noodles, semi-finished vegetables, duck, pharmaceutical products and a box manufacturing plant.

Almost all factories have a 12-hour working day. But for women from 09:00 to 17:00 or 18:00. The salaries of women and men differ markedly. Some factories work night shifts. During such shifts, the salary increases to 90,000 won (5,000 rubles).

Our fellow countrywoman from Irkutsk spoke about working on women’s “arbaits” in Seoul. Women usually clean motels and wash dishes in restaurants and cafes. However, in the metropolitan metropolis, the “arbeitchik” must drive to work himself. Every day he works in different places. Salaries are paid in different ways: somewhere once a month, somewhere every week or daily. I managed to see an “arbeit” in a neighboring village, which was located right on the street. There, workers go out onto the street and stand in rows, waiting to see who will be chosen for work.

Pulp pops in wonrooms

Usually, when holidaymakers come here, they turn to intermediaries. Employers actively publish paid vacancies in mobile phone application groups and on social networks. This service costs $130 and up. Russians willingly work in factories and factories. Most often, newcomers work on the land. Old-timers are moving to “arbayts”. Residents of Central Asia and Buryatia often work in shiktan cafes and motels. And the illegal immigrants themselves in South Korea are called “pulpops.” Of course, Russians have the opportunity to work legally. But the majority of them cannot obtain these visas due to excessive requirements. In particular, due to ignorance of the Korean language.

Pulp workers' salaries are lower than those of legal workers. The employer takes this difference. The advantage of “arbeit” in industrial zones is that they are delivered to factories. “Arbeitchiki” are forced to rent apartments. They are called here "apats" or "wonrums". Renting an apartment costs 200,000 won per month per person (10,000 rubles). Although it will cost much less for ethnic Koreans and ID card holders. Several high-rise buildings are owned by one owner. Construction and rental of guestrooms - profitable business for Korean businessmen.

I would like to note that we are now witnessing the integration of foreign labor force in economically developed countries. According to the US News ranking of the best countries in the world, South Korea is one of the top 23 countries in the world, ranked 11th and considered one of the largest recipients of foreign investment and the sixth exporter in the world. And it is not surprising that migrant workers from different countries. They often stay here to live, create new families, and receive citizenship.

"Arbeit" and fictitious marriages

Uzbeks are a large diaspora in South Korea. As one Korean woman said ethnic roots, she married a citizen of Uzbekistan. Now the fictitious husband regularly pays her alimony. Therefore, Uzbeks come with work visas, prudently creating fictitious marriages with ethnic Koreans of Uzbekistan. Fictitious marriages there are also among the Buryats. For a certain amount, you can marry an ethnic Korean and obtain residence rights in South Korea.

Often, visiting women marry Hanguk men. Thus, a 38-year-old Filipino woman has been married to a 60-year-old Hanguk man for five years. They are raising a son together. As she admitted, she had to hide her age in order to have a better chance of a happy marriage. According to her, in South Korea they are very attentive to such marriages. Special services test the family's strength: they may suddenly come and conduct an inspection.

Motels and maids

Nowadays there is little work at Arbeit. On one of these days, at a dietary supplement packaging plant, I found myself redundant. I had to hitchhike to my locality. Fortunately, the Hanguks are friendly, and with a minimal vocabulary of Korean words they understood me and took me there. I had to go to Seoul. There, through an intermediary, I got a job in a motel. The cleaning there is usually done by women. They work in pairs, sometimes in threes. For example, two of them work as maids, one as a laundress. I had to work alone from 10:00 to 22:00. My hosts themselves lived at the hotel. I was also given a room and the same food as the Hanguk. In luxury motels with a clientele from Western countries, mainly from the United States, the Hanguk themselves work. And Russians are offered work in motels intended for Koreans. I did laundry, cleaning 28 rooms, and sorting garbage. So I worked 12 days without days off. And, having received my salary, I began to look new job. Search is a difficult matter. So I had to suffer for five days until I found a job in shiktan.

Shiktan

This is what cafes and canteens are called in South Korea. It took me more than five hours to get to my shiktan in the port city by bus. Russians are hired as dishwashers. The work schedule is 13 hours, sometimes more. Girls who speak Korean at a conversational level work as waiters.

My partner from Primorye has been working at shiktan for six months. She admitted that she enjoyed her work and that she would never receive so much money for the same work in Russia. She worked seven days a week to send home 50,000 rubles every month. Her monthly salary was 75,000 rubles.

I met another of our compatriots, Katya, in Seoul. She washes dishes in restaurants. Her monthly income allows her to rent a koshiwon - a room with a bed - in the Russian district of Seoul. She lives with hope for the future, trying to create a personal life that will give her a guarantee of citizenship in South Korea.

I have experienced the vicissitudes of illegal workers. But first I turned to an employment agency in South Korea, which is located in Ulan-Ude.

There I was briefed and sent to my agent in South Korea. I went “visa-free” for two months. In addition, the South Korean consulate in Irkutsk assured me over the phone that it is not necessary to obtain a three-month visa for the media. Among illegal immigrants, employment agents are called intermediaries.

Various "arbeit"

My intermediary sent me and our fellow countrywoman to an “arbeit” in one of the country’s industrial zones. There we were met by another intermediary, a Chinese. He moved us into an apartment, which in their own way they call “wonroom”. The apartment turned out to be nice and cozy. Our work shift began the next day.

What is "arbeit"? These are offices and employment exchanges that provide work to foreigners with a work visa. Local Koreans are called Hanguk. Arbeit offers its hanguks work in various plants, factories, and fields. The Russians compete with the Malaysians, Chinese, and Mongols. There are many industrial zones in South Korea, where plants and factories with different types of production are concentrated. Therefore, one day you can go to a cosmetics factory packing creams, and on the second you will have to pluck ducks in a refrigeration department at another factory.

I worked one day in greenhouses, collecting weeds from the roots of ginseng. I was given my first salary of 55,000 won (approximately 2,700 rubles). And the next day I was already packing canned food at a meat processing plant. This is quite hard work, as I had to lift heavy boxes. Then, through great connections, I got a job as a bookkeeper at a factory producing soft drinks and coffee. These products, according to the Koreans, were exported to Japan. I wrote down the pallet numbers on forms and glued them. During the night shift I monitored the production of plastic bottles.

However, work at this plant ended. And again I found myself on a package of creams. The whole day I stood next to the Korean woman and plugged the “yellow bananas” with plugs. My partner poured cream into them from a huge vat using her machine. Then we managed to visit factories for packaging noodles, semi-finished vegetables, duck, pharmaceutical products and a box manufacturing plant.

Almost all factories have a 12-hour working day. But for women from 09:00 to 17:00 or 18:00. The salaries of women and men differ markedly. Some factories work night shifts. During such shifts, the salary increases to 90,000 won (5,000 rubles).

Our fellow countrywoman from Irkutsk spoke about working on women’s “arbaits” in Seoul. Women usually clean motels and wash dishes in restaurants and cafes. However, in the metropolitan metropolis, the “arbeitchik” must drive to work himself. Every day he works in different places. Salaries are paid in different ways: somewhere once a month, somewhere every week or daily. I managed to see an “arbeit” in a neighboring village, which was located right on the street. There, workers go out onto the street and stand in rows, waiting to see who will be chosen for work.

Pulp pops in wonrooms

Usually, when holidaymakers come here, they turn to intermediaries. Employers actively publish paid vacancies in mobile phone application groups and on social networks. This service costs $130 and up. Russians willingly work in factories and factories. Most often, newcomers work on the land. Old-timers are moving to “arbayts”. Residents of Central Asia and Buryatia often work in shiktan cafes and motels. And the illegal immigrants themselves in South Korea are called “pulpops.” Of course, Russians have the opportunity to work legally. But the majority of them cannot obtain these visas due to excessive requirements. In particular, due to ignorance of the Korean language.

Pulp workers' salaries are lower than those of legal workers. The employer takes this difference. The advantage of “arbeit” in industrial zones is that they are delivered to factories. “Arbeitchiki” are forced to rent apartments. They are called here "apats" or "wonrums". Renting an apartment costs 200,000 won per month per person (10,000 rubles). Although it will cost much less for ethnic Koreans and ID card holders. Several high-rise buildings are owned by one owner. Construction and rental of wonrooms is a profitable business for Korean businessmen.

I would like to note that we are now witnessing the integration of foreign labor into economically developed countries. According to the US News ranking of the best countries in the world, South Korea is one of the top 23 countries in the world, ranked 11th and considered one of the largest recipients of foreign investment and the sixth exporter in the world. And it is not surprising that migrant workers from different countries come here to work. They often stay here to live, create new families, and receive citizenship.

"Arbeit" and fictitious marriages

Uzbeks are a large diaspora in South Korea. As one Korean woman with ethnic roots said, she married a citizen of Uzbekistan. Now the fictitious husband regularly pays her alimony. Therefore, Uzbeks come with work visas, prudently creating fictitious marriages with ethnic Koreans of Uzbekistan. There are also fictitious marriages among the Buryats. For a certain amount, you can marry an ethnic Korean and obtain residence rights in South Korea.

Often, visiting women marry Hanguk men. Thus, a 38-year-old Filipino woman has been married to a 60-year-old Hanguk man for five years. They are raising a son together. As she admitted, she had to hide her age in order to have a better chance of a happy marriage. According to her, in South Korea they are very attentive to such marriages. Special services test the family's strength: they may suddenly come and conduct an inspection.

Motels and maids

Nowadays there is little work at Arbeit. On one of these days, at a dietary supplement packaging plant, I found myself redundant. I had to hitchhike to my locality. Fortunately, the Hanguks are friendly, and with a minimal vocabulary of Korean words they understood me and took me there. I had to go to Seoul. There, through an intermediary, I got a job in a motel. The cleaning there is usually done by women. They work in pairs, sometimes in threes. For example, two of them work as maids, one as a laundress. I had to work alone from 10:00 to 22:00. My hosts themselves lived at the hotel. I was also given a room and the same food as the Hanguk. In luxury motels with a clientele from Western countries, mainly from the United States, the Hanguk themselves work. And Russians are offered work in motels intended for Koreans. I did laundry, cleaning 28 rooms, and sorting garbage. So I worked 12 days without days off. And, having received my salary, I began to look for a new job. Search is a difficult matter. So I had to suffer for five days until I found a job in shiktan.

Shiktan

This is what cafes and canteens are called in South Korea. It took me more than five hours to get to my shiktan in the port city by bus. Russians are hired as dishwashers. The work schedule is 13 hours, sometimes more. Girls who speak Korean at a conversational level work as waiters.

My partner from Primorye has been working at shiktan for six months. She admitted that she enjoyed her work and that she would never receive so much money for the same work in Russia. She worked seven days a week to send home 50,000 rubles every month. Her monthly salary was 75,000 rubles.

I met another of our compatriots, Katya, in Seoul. She washes dishes in restaurants. Her monthly income allows her to rent a koshiwon - a room with a bed - in the Russian district of Seoul. She lives with hope for the future, trying to create a personal life that will give her a guarantee of citizenship in South Korea.

Recently, more and more people have heard or read on the Internet that you can make money in South Korea. A country with a small territory and a powerful economy attracts citizens from all over the world, including from the CIS countries. At the same time, the options for entering Korea, as well as the ways to earn money, are different and diverse. In this article, the author will try to understand this type of income as arbeit "in Korean". Of course, it is impossible to cover all the nuances and details of the arbeit in one publication, but we will try to cover some points. To do this, the author decided to get a job as an arbeit! All people's names and titles have been changed, any resemblance is purely coincidental.

...The plane was approaching Incheon (colloquial - Incheon) from the sea, through the window you could see the silhouettes of ships and various boats floating by. The weather was sunny and foreshadowed good mood after the St. Petersburg rain and gloomy sky. Having collected my things, I headed to the exit of the aircraft, watching the other passengers along the way. Basically, these were citizens of South Korea who were returning to their homeland after a trip to Russia and St. Petersburg.

Walking along the long corridor from the telescopic gangway to the border control point, I stopped at the front of the counters where Korean employees were processing entry stickers. My turn came quickly, I approached the check-in counter and handed over my passport. I had F-4 visa for ethnic Koreans. And having this visa made me happy, somewhere deep down I was grateful for the opportunity that the Korean government provided for overseas ethnic Koreans.

I was asked to leave my fingerprints on a small electronic scanner, and was given a sticker, aka a simple small piece of paper with my entry details. As before, entry stamps are no longer placed in the passport. After checking in, I went to get my luggage and expected that strict customs officers would stand at the exit and check the bags for prohibited items, such as sausage. To my surprise, I quickly found my travel suitcase and headed for the exit without any checks. And I still couldn’t understand why they didn’t check the contents of the suitcase? They didn't even check the luggage tags! Walking past the employees who had no time for me, I stopped for a moment and remembered an episode from the movie “The Diamond Arm.” Remember when Semyon Semyonich walked past the controller with his suitcases? They put a cross on his suitcase with chalk, he was surprised, erased the cross and stood in line again to be checked. I think that customs officers do not check flights from St. Petersburg and Moscow as strictly as flights from Central Asia.

Within a week, through a friend, I submitted documents to the migration center for production ID cards(ID-card, registration card for all citizens living long time in Korea) and started looking for job advertisements. Also, at the migration center I was given a certificate confirming the acceptance of documents for obtaining an ID card. This certificate is important until you receive an ID card. Thanks to my friend, in the building of the migration center, I immediately issued tonjanka(bank passbook) and debit card. Myself, I stopped in the city Incheon.

Basically, the source of vacancies for Russian-speaking citizens is social media. Various job vacancies are posted every day. I was interested in the arbeit. Many people do not want to get an official job, especially those who do not plan to work in one place for a long time or wait a month and a half for a salary after starting work. There is such a thing as "out", period and time of salary payment. It happens on the 10th, 15th, 25th. If you got a job in the month of August, then you will receive your first salary for the days worked in the month of August on September 10, 15 or even September 25. Therefore, those who have just moved to Korea need real money and arbayt is the most acceptable option for them to earn money.

Payment in South Korea for guest workers is hourly, the minimum rate for one hour of work is 7530 won(about 6.73 US dollars or 456 Russian rubles). The work schedule does not differ much at different enterprises. As a rule, a working day or shift starts at 8:00 and lasts until 17:00. It's a short working day. Anything beyond this time is already considered processing and is paid at an increased rate, approximately 11,000 won (9.83 US dollars or 666 Russian rubles). Under capitalism, many people try to earn more money and are happy when there are overtime jobs. Sometimes there are enterprises where they pay for 1 hour slightly above the minimum wage.

I called one of the numbers that I managed to find in the process of searching for vacancies. A young man named Larik answered and said that the work was away in another city, Kimpo. The work is simple and not physically difficult, just collect and pack mattresses. Schedule from 8:30 to 17:30 (short day), departure from Incheon at 7:10. Payment is made twice, on the 1st-2nd and 15th for each two-week period worked. At the same time, they paid 93,000 won per day (83 US dollars or 5,624 Russian rubles). But every day for round trip travel we had to pay 10,000 won to the driver, that same Larik. As a result, 83,000 won remained net.

Morning in Korea starts "early" in the morning. From 6 o'clock there are already enough people on the streets rushing to their work. At the appointed time, I stood at the famous bakery cafe trademark in Korea. Other men and women stood nearby, waiting for their delivery bus. Compatriot guest workers from the CIS countries passed by with sad faces, hastily dressed and with sleepy eyes.

Another gray and white minibus pulled up and my phone rang. Larik called, it was his minibus. Having opened the door, I saw 8 more people inside, including the driver. Having settled into the middle row of seats, we went to my first arbeit in Korea. However, after driving a couple of hundred meters, we stopped... To take one more person. As a result, in the minibus there were two girls and 5 guys sitting in two rows of seats, and two more guys were sitting in front next to Larik.

It turned out to be uncomfortable for four of us to sit in a row of three seats; our neighbor’s elbow pressed into our sides. But we have to be patient, we’re going to Arbeit! The smoke of siageret without menthol spread throughout the cabin from time to time, because... Larik wanted to smoke. After all, he has the most responsible work— transportation of people to work and back. We drove quickly, changing lanes from one lane to another and overtaking passing cars. Despite the fact that Larik was in a hurry, he drove carefully, without any sudden braking or acceleration. After about 55 minutes we reached an area where many factories and factories were located. Our factory produced some of the most branded mattresses in South Korea. Let's call it, conventionally, FiveStar.

There were almost 20 minutes left before the shift started. With my eyes I assessed the upcoming working day. The weather was a little cloudy, but sometimes the sun showed through. I was asked to give a Tonjan woman and a certificate from the migration center about accepting documents to receive an ID card. To the question, “What should I do?”, they answered me: “Rest for now, when the shift starts, go with the guys, they will show you what to do.”

The rest of the guys sat comfortably on chairs in a special designated area for smoking outside. I sat down next to him, although I don’t smoke. But it was interesting to meet and chat. The Russian-speaking girls also sat down and lit a cigarette. More guys and a man of about fifty-five came up, greeted everyone and immediately lit a cigarette. The guys respectfully called the man Uncle Misha. A few minutes later, an elderly local Korean man appeared, whose name no one knew. And when asked what his position was, everyone answered that he was the most important one here. No one really knew what his job title sounded like in Korean.

Russian-speaking visitors call all local Koreans "hanguki". This head hanguk began issuing brief orders to other local Koreans. Ours quickly dispersed to their hangars and workplaces. I went with Uncle Misha to the main hangar, found a corner and changed into Korean pants made of light material. I bought the pants for 7,000 won.

8:30 everyone is at their jobs.

“What are we going to do today?” — I asked Uncle Misha a question.
“Take your gloves, come with us.” - Uncle Misha answered.
Taking new gloves, I followed everyone. In the next yard across the road there were also factory warehouses. There was also a 40-foot sea container with a tractor. We had to unload this container. Inside were latex mattress bases in plastic packaging of various sizes and different characteristics. These differences, as it turned out later, delay the unloading work. Two guys were throwing packaged workpieces from the container, the dimensions of which ranged from 1.1x2 m to 1.65x2 m. Heavy and slippery packages were grabbed with all fingers and dragged onto pallets. The finished pallets were removed by a young Hanguk "Jackie Chan". This is how our Russian-speaking guest workers nicknamed the forklift, which in Korean (지게차) JiGeCha is consonant with the name “Jackie Chan”.

The first day of the arbeit, and I remember Larik saying on the phone that the work was simple and not difficult, began with warming up all the muscles and joints. I haven’t lifted or moved so many kilograms in all the previous five years combined. It was stuffy outside, my fingers began to ache from tension, and, due to the carelessness of one of the guys, I crushed my middle finger on my hand. I wanted to drink water, but the water cooler was in the hangar. I had to wait for a ten-minute smoke break.

10:30

On a break (십분- pinch bun) none of our people spared their lungs, savoring another cigarette. After quickly going to the toilet and drinking cold water from the cooler, a couple of minutes later we began the final unloading. It was necessary to unload before lunch, which began at 11:40. After the smoke break, the sky began to become cloudy and from time to time it began to rain. We were in a hurry. The rain was also in a hurry, choosing us as its target. There were only ten minutes left before the container was unloaded. These were the “wettest moments” of my adult life. The faster we tried to finish the job, the harder the rain fell. An elderly Hanguk came to check on us and cheer us up a little, bringing with him a couple of umbrellas! But where can you put these umbrellas if your hands are full and there is not enough space around? The container was emptying, the rain was pouring down in buckets, and his hands worked like car windshield wipers in accelerated mode, washing the water off his face and wiping it with a wet T-shirt. Finally, everything was unloaded and we ran under the shed to wring out our clothes. Everything was completely wet: panties, T-shirt, socks, sneakers. Walking into my hangar, taking off my T-shirt, I turned on a large floor fan and began to dry it under the stream of air. The time on the Arbeit is scheduled in minutes, especially when it comes to smoking breaks, lunches and finishing work.

Arbeit is arbeit, and lunch is on schedule!
11:40

Uncle Misha commands: “ Dinner! Everyone quits their work and quickly goes to the minibus, which we take to the canteen, located three hundred meters from our factory. The women rode to the cafeteria in the main hanguk's minibus. The dining room is average, allowing about 100 visitors to eat at the same time. Workers and company employees from all over the surrounding area come or come for lunch, each at their own specific time. Therefore, there are no queues or crowds to be seen. Entering the dining room, I saw two large pots of rice and tables with salads and snacks. Among the traditional salads were kimchi, seasoned radish, sprouted soybean sprouts, fried meat, various salads, soup in a bowl, and cold compote. The principle of a buffet, when everyone helps themselves to what they want to eat. I took a little bit of everything, but the plate was almost full!

Finding an empty seat at the table near the air conditioner, I began to sample my lunch. Accustomed to eating slowly, I was surprised to notice how our other guys were working hard with their jaws and chopsticks, the food “falling” into their stomachs at the speed of free fall. It felt as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. Literally, in 8-10 minutes, all the food on their plates disappeared. They got up from their seats, took the dirty dishes to the dishwashers and went out. I felt a little uncomfortable and speeded up the absorption of my food. But no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t finish my first lunch on the Arbeit before 15 minutes.

After lunch, everyone again loaded into the minibus and went to their factory. The first thing everyone did was sit under the canopy and start smoking. As such, there was no communication between each other; everyone was busy with their thoughts or their phone. Lunch time lasts exactly one hour, until 12:40. To be honest, it’s difficult to work after lunch; I want to rest. But life in Korea forces people to change their habits, lifestyle and thinking. Although, many of our guest workers still live in Korea with their bad habits, without even thinking about changing yourself and your thinking.

Work and work again...

Uncle Misha was short, densely built with a face that was a little reminiscent of the actor Yevgeny Leonov. So you think that he will say jokingly: “ I'll tear the mouth apart, gouge out the blinkers! But Uncle Misha worked conscientiously, had a calm character and always tried to do the job well. He became my partner and mentor for the two weeks I spent fulfilling my mission. Together, we took the same latex bases that we unloaded from the warehouse, put thick sheets on them, then tucked them into special sewn covers for mattresses. The work required synchronicity and attentiveness. The finished mattresses were folded several times and placed in special branded bags. I put an information sheet inside the folded mattresses, zipped it on one side, and my partner on the other. I put on a green round sticker for control, gathered the fabric handles of the bag together and secured them with strips of Velcro. Uncle Misha fixed the zipper pulls with a plastic clamp and took the finished bags to a temporary storage area. After unloading the container in the pouring rain, the job couldn't have been easier. Every day we had new tasks and orders. Two young hanguks, sort of senior factory foreman, gave us instructions in Korean about which mattresses to fill and pack. They themselves famously managed the Jackie Chans and were always on the job, showing their loyalty and efficiency to their superiors.

On the very first day of Arbeit, I saw how our guys worked. Some people worked hard, doing the work slowly, others worked conscientiously, doing everything carefully and silently. The old hanguk constantly came to the hangar and looked at the work, and also checked the mattresses himself, sniffing the spongy latex base. Repeating after him, the guys also poked their noses into the latex and sucked in air: it was a kind of “smell sensor” for used mattresses. According to its marketing policy, the FiveStar company accepted back used mattresses after a certain time and replaced their covers with sheets. And so, we unpack such a used mattress, remove the cover, then remove the sheet with the remains of someone’s hair and deeply inhale the aroma of spongy latex, yellowed in places. True, I never inhaled, because... my nose still wouldn't detect anything.

While packing the mattresses, I caught myself thinking. Real branded Korean mattresses, some of which cost as much as $1,800, consist of Vietnamese latex bases, material from Thailand, Chinese bags and the handiwork of Russian-speaking Koreans. All these components are capitalism in action.

At 17:15, cleaning of the workplace and the area around it usually begins (청소) jeongso. It so happened that the general cleaning on the first day began early and ended quickly. All the guys went to the toilet; a young guy named Gena remained in the hangar, finishing sweeping the floor. After a while, the senior foreman came running and began to scold our guys because they had left the hangar and there was only one Gena left inside, who was cleaning up. As the young hanguk explained a little later, through a video camera in the hangar, the elderly hanguk saw an empty hangar on the monitor in his office and wondered why everyone had disappeared somewhere. After a little appeal to our conscience, the foreman said that next time everyone should be in the hangar by 17:30. Nodding our heads, we went to our minibus, having previously signed our signatures on the work time sheet. I noticed that none of the guys even change into a change of clothes, although after a working day the whole T-shirt is wet from sweat, and the pants collect all the micro-dust that imperceptibly floats in the air from working fans, mineral wool and materials.

The journey back home takes a little longer, because... Many people are returning from work and there are small traffic jams on the roads. The girls immediately sat in the back row of seats, the rest in the empty seats, Larick turned on the music and we all drove to Incheon. The girls, by the way, immediately received payment, because... they worked temporarily for a few days. In a short day, they received 68,000 won in their hands, of which 10,000 won were immediately given to Larik for round-trip travel. Their work was not very hard, assembling boxes with massage pillows, putting stickers on bags, etc.

Is it possible to make money in South Korea?

Thus, after working ten days over two weeks on this particular arbeit, everyone received 920,000 won (822 US dollars or 55,710 Russian rubles). From this salary it was necessary to give Larik 100,000 won for 10 days of travel. But this remaining amount is enough for one person in South Korea to pay rent for an apartment, eat normally and make small purchases.

Accordingly, if you go to Arbayt on a permanent basis, you will receive about 1,650,000 won per month (about 1,475 dollars or about 100,000 Russian rubles). By the standards of South Korea, such a salary for guest workers is considered small, but if we compare the work time (only 8 hours) and the schedule (five days), such a salary looks attractive. Working on a permanent basis and having officially signed a contract, guest workers on average receive from 2,200,000 to 2,800,000 won per month. And this is already a significant income, which allows visitors to make money savings and improve their lives.

In conclusion, I would like to note that due to the economic crises in the CIS countries and new sanctions for Russia, the economic stability of South Korea is attracting more and more guest workers from both the CIS countries and Russia. Consumer activity in South Korea itself is quite high, which also affects the production of various goods. And, if the next global economic crisis does not break out, then guest workers from the CIS can live in Korea for a long time and earn a better life for themselves!

Dmitry Tyan
(August-September 2018)

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"Arbeiten" translated from German means to work. For some reason, low-skilled jobs in South Korea are called a similar word - Arbeit.

If we take the Russian language, the most suitable word is handyman.

A person who comes to work in South Korea without an H2 or F4 visa does not have many work options.

Either go to work at a factory, or go to Arbeit.

In this article we will look at what “arbeit” is, how much workers are paid, what conditions they live in and what kind of work they do.

Working on an arbeit means that you come to a certain Korean, he moves you into his home.

Every day at 7 am you come or are brought to the office. Next, they decide who is going where. The work can be different - construction, fields, greenhouses, etc. You may get an easy job and you will be watering the street with a hose all day, or you may be sent to help at the post office or cook kim-chi (a Korean dish), where you will spend 10 hours peppering cabbage.

There are an endless variety of types of work on an arbeit. The word “handyman” fits here more than ever.

At all jobs, they must be fed, from 2 to 4 times a day. As a rule, 2 meals - a full lunch and dinner, and 2 small snacks. There are also 10-15 minute smoke breaks.

At 18.00 (almost always) work ends. You are taken home and the rest of the time is yours.

Payment on Arbeit, as a rule, varies from 60,000 to 120,000 won (3300-6600 rubles today).

Basically, payment is made daily, after work.

The foreman/employer is the person with whom you live, to whom you are brought to the office every day, who provides you with work.

An employer is a person who pays your foreman money for the work you have done, and for whom you actually work at the site.

The rate is fixed and paid to you by your employer. The employer has a percentage of your work, but this does not affect your earnings. Let's give an example - your Foreman sends you to work collecting garlic. The employer pays him 120,000 won per person. He gives you 80,000, and takes 40,000 for himself.

There were cases when a team of 10 people, receiving 80,000 each, completed a construction project, for which the foreman received 2,400,000 won. In total, his net earnings from you per day were 2,400,000 - 10 x 80,000 = 1,600,000 won. That is, from each of you he earned 2 times more than you yourself. You need to take this calmly.

Firstly, he is your employer, and how much profit he earns from you is his business. Secondly, he pays for your housing and resolves your issues. Thirdly, there are days when you even leave him in minus (let’s say there is not enough work on that day, but he still has to pay you, and he sends you to a site for which he will be paid 800,000 won, instead of 10 people - 15, because that there is no work. As a result, he pays you the difference.) or zero. It also happens that the foreman pays a little extra for a profitable project. It happens when good job employers pay extra.
The main key to success in working on an arbeit is to work productively. There are many examples when employers took a good employee to work for them directly, on more favorable terms, realizing that he was of great use. There are many examples of when good worker They got a work visa and he completely emigrated to the Republic of Kazakhstan receiving a good salary.

Also, if you loaf around and try in every possible way to shirk work, of course they will pay you, but they will definitely complain to the foreman. After several such complaints, the foreman will most likely ask you to move out, and you will either have to return home or pay a job search fee again. And the repeated work will be much worse than the original one; as a rule, those “fired” are sent to the hardest or lowest paid work.

The advantages of working on an arbeit:

1. Since you work different jobs every day, and most of the time these jobs are temporary, the chances of the police arresting you for illegal work are minimal.
2. You get paid daily. Firstly, even taking into account the fact that Korea is a safe country in terms of payment, receiving money in your hands every day is calmer and more reliable for yourself. Secondly, when you get tired at work and want to go home, having received a decent payment for your work in Russian payment standards, it becomes easier and there is an incentive to continue.
3. The work doesn’t get boring, and it’s easier to work through the entire term. You quickly get tired of the same work.
4. Opportunity to gain experience and profession in different fields.

Disadvantages of the job:

1. The employer is constantly changing. Everyone has their own character, attitude and approach. You need to build relationships with everyone.
2. The work can be physically very difficult and exhausting.
3. Even if you come with a friend to work for the same foreman, there is a high chance that you will work in different places and only live together.