The onion farms are located in the Sinan and Muan islands in the southern part of South Korea. The salary promised is $1,500 monthly (around Rs 1,12,500 going by today’s exchange rate).
Kiran KS, 32, an MBA graduate who lost his job during the first wave of the pandemic, has been desperately looking for a means to survive. A native of North Paravoor, Kiran was one of the 800 applicants who thronged the Ernakulam Town Hall to attend a recruitment seminar for an onion farming job at South Korea organised by Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultant (ODEPC) — a state agency.