[News Today] FILIPINO DOMESTIC HELPERS IN KOREA

[LEAD]
100 Filipino domestic helpers came into Korea as part of the government's plan to combat low birth rates. They've begun childcare duties in homes nationwide this week. This inaugural program has sparked both optimism and concerns. Early feedback from users is positive. Here's more.

[REPORT]
A Filipino domestic helper says hi to Ji-yu who's not even a year old yet. Using the experience of raising two children, she looks after Ji-yu four hours a day, five days a week.

She expertly comforts the crying baby.

Filipino Domestic Helper/
It's okay, it's okay. Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo.

Also she folds the laundry and tidies up the house.

Song A-ram/ Filipino Domestic Help Employer
Oftentimes I run errands because of the baby. With her help of 4 hours a day I have more time to carry out such activities.

Another upside is that the baby can interact with an English speaker.

The monthly cost can go up as high as 2.38 million won, over 1,780 U.S. dollars, but if her hours are cut down to just four hours a day, the monthly fee goes down to 1.1 million won, about 825 dollars.

Song A-ram/ Filipino Domestic Help Employer
The hourly wage for a Korean postnatal caregiver is between 18,000 won to 20,000 won (USD 15). But a Filipino worker costs 13,700 won (USD 10) an hour.

The downsides include a vague job description of household work related to childcare and communicating in English.

Song A-ram/ Filipino Domestic Help Employer
It doesn't feel right to do only baby's laundry or dishes. We could work it out over time, but I wish that problem would get fixed.

One hundred domestic workers from the Philippines came to Korea as a solution for the nation's low birth rate problem.

They received training in Korea for a month before being assigned to 142 homes this week. Nearly 10% of the employers cancelled the service due to economic burden or language issues.

One solution to this problem would be letting individual families hire their own infant caregivers and flexibly adjust their wages.

Prof. Kim Hyun-cheol/ Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology (August)
These foreigner helpers could start at a low wage, but later be given raises befitting their productivity.

The government is to consider increasing the number of Filipino domestic helpers to 1,200 if the pilot program is proven effective.

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