Filipina workers participating in the pilot program for Filipina childcare workers arrive at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Brimming with anticipation, 100 Filipina childcare workers landed at Incheon International Airport early Tuesday morning, ready to participate in the new pilot program to support the care needs of participating Seoul families.

Dressed in matching blue jackets emblazoned with the Philippine national flag, the workers emerged from the arrivals gate with their luggage. Some paused to make the heart gesture with their fingers toward the assembled reporters, a move reflecting their excitement and curiosity about their new life in Korea.

“Hello, my name is Glory. I studied marketing at a university in the Philippines, and I hope to make wonderful memories in Korea. Thank you,” 32-year-old Kailing Glory Masinang, one of the workers arriving as part of the pilot program, said in Korean.

Kailing Glory Masinang, 32, one of the childcare workers entering South Korea through the new pilot program, answers questions from reporters at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

In an interview in English, she shared that she holds the Caregiving National Certification Level II Certificate from the Philippine government's Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and that she came here because she wants to learn about Korean culture. “I was very surprised when I got accepted and everyone around me was envious.”

She continued, “I’ve also studied Korean diligently. I want to earn a lot of money to start a business in the Philippines, help my family and attend graduate school there.”

When asked about any concerns she might have during her six-month stay in Seoul, Masinang said with a smile, “I don't have any worries so far; my anticipation is greater. I want to enjoy Korean culture and make lots of friends.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Employment and Labor have been pushing this project to introduce caregivers of foreign nationalities as a response to the declining number of local care workers due to labor conditions.

The six-month pilot is designed to evaluate the potential and efficacy of the program in addressing the shortage of care workers providing essential child care and related household management.

The pilot program, which hires exclusively Philippine national women to work in Seoul, is scheduled to run from Sept. 3, 2024, until the end of February 2025, with the workers officially beginning work on Sept. 3.

All participants in the program, limited to Filipinas aged 24 to 38, hold the Caregiving National Certification Level II Certificate from the Philippine government's Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, demonstrating completion of at least 780 hours of vocational training in the Philippines.

They have also passed a comprehensive background check, health examination and language proficiency assessment. Additionally, all the caregivers are fluent in English and have basic proficiency in Korean, according to the Seoul city government.

The 100 Filipina caregivers are scheduled to participate in a comprehensive four-week intensive training program to facilitate their transition and social integration commencing Tuesday and concluding on Sept. 2.

Applications for local families interested in hiring caregivers from the Philippines opened July 17 and were accepted through Tuesday. As of Aug. 1, 422 families had submitted applications.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will closely monitor the pilot program to evaluate its effectiveness, collecting feedback from the workers and the service recipients to fine-tune the program. This evaluation may lead to a potential expansion of the program in the future.

"We will actively support the Filipina caregivers who are leaving their home country and starting unfamiliar lives in Seoul to help them adapt,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure that satisfactory care and housework services are provided to families who use the services,” said Kim Sun-soon, director of Seoul City's Women and Family Policy Division.