When the Agency Sends You to the Mountains: Understanding Irregular, Short-Term, and Part-Time Work in Korea

She was brought up to the mountains with a group of other workers, all sent by the same agency. The job sounded simple: pick chestnuts, fill the bundle, get paid. But nobody told her how heavy that bundle really was, or how long it would take one person to fill it alone, or what would happen if she couldn't finish in time. By the time she realized she couldn't keep up, she had no way to get back down. She called her husband to come and get her.

I've heard versions of this story so many times now that I've stopped being surprised. Mostly it's farms — chestnuts, garlic, peppers, whatever needs harvesting that season. An agency calls, a van picks you up, you work for a few days or a few weeks, and then it's over. No one explains what kind of worker you actually are under Korean law, or what that even means for you.

So let me explain it, kababayan, the way I wish someone had explained it to my friend before she got in that van.

What does "irregular employee" actually mean?

Under Korean labor law, there isn't one single legal definition that neatly separates "regular" from "irregular" workers just based on the length of your contract. But in practice, the law and the courts recognize a few real categories that matter a lot for your rights:

• A short-term employee is someone whose labor contract is for less than two years.
• A part-time employee is someone whose contracted working hours per week are shorter than those of a full-time worker doing the same kind of work at the same workplace.
• A dispatch employee is someone sent by a sending agency to work under the direction of a different company — the "using employer." This is exactly what happened to my friend. The agency was her official employer on paper, but the farm was telling her what to do and how fast to do it.

These aren't just labels. They determine what protections apply to you, and just as importantly, what an employer is not allowed to do to you because of your status.

The law that protects you: the discrimination correction system

Here is the part most of us never hear about. Korea has a law — sometimes called the Non-Regular Employee Protection Act — that specifically prohibits employers from treating short-term, part-time, and dispatch workers worse than regular employees doing the same or similar work, without a justifiable reason.

This means an employer cannot pay you less per hour, deny you basic conditions, or treat you unfairly just because you're a seasonal or agency worker, if a regular worker doing the same job would be treated better. If there's a real difference in job scope, responsibility, or working conditions, some difference in treatment can be justified. But disadvantage based only on your short-term or dispatch status, without a real reason, is against the law.

For dispatch workers specifically, both the agency (the sending employer) and the farm or company you're actually working for (the using employer) share responsibility. The agency is generally responsible for wages and paid leave standards under the Labor Standards Act, while the company you're physically working for is responsible for things like your working hours and rest breaks. Neither one gets to point at the other and say "not my problem" when something goes wrong.

If you feel you were treated unfairly, there's a process

If a short-term, part-time, or dispatch worker experiences unjustified disadvantage, they can apply to the Labor Relations Commission for correction — generally within three months of when the unfair treatment happened, or the last day it happened if it was ongoing. The Commission can investigate and issue a correction order, and if the employer doesn't comply, they can be fined.

I know how far away all of this can feel when you're standing in a chestnut orchard with a half-filled bundle and no ride home. Most of us don't think about "labor commissions" in that moment — we think about getting through the day, or getting home safely. But knowing that this system exists, even if we never use it, changes how we walk into these jobs. It means we can ask questions before we get in the van. It means we can recognize when something crosses the line from "hard work" into "unfair treatment."

What I tell kababayan now

Before you say yes to an agency job — farm work, factory work, anything — ask what your actual working hours will be, who is really your employer on paper, and what happens if you can't finish. Ask if there's a quota, and what the plan is if you can't meet it. It won't stop every bad situation. My friend's agency probably wouldn't have answered honestly anyway. But asking the question, and knowing that Korean law actually has something to say about how you're treated, is the first step toward not feeling so alone the next time that van picks you up.

Ingat po tayong lahat, at sana wala nang ibang kaibigan ang mananawagan pa ng asawa mula sa bundok dahil lang walang nagpaliwanag sa kanya kung ano talaga ang karapatan niya.

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About the Author

English Instructor in South Korea | 22 Years of Teaching Experience

Majella Pagayon is the founder of Pinoy Sarang, a community platform dedicated to helping Filipinos navigate life, work, education, and immigration in South Korea. She regularly writes practical guides, safety tips, and educational resources for Filipinos living and working abroad.