Foreign workers gain skills, but stuck on career ladder

When Nalinda Kumara, a 37-year-old Sri Lankan shipyard worker, was promoted to on-site foreman in 2024, his company described it as the first such appointment of a foreign national in Korea's shipbuilding industry, a sector increasingly reliant on overseas workers. Kumara has worked for more than a decade with a subcontractor of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. He now leads a team of 25 Korean and foreign workers, overseeing touch-up painting operations and workplace safety. "I feel very proud that

By The Korea Herald