The Korean government will operate a pilot program allowing foreign students to invite their parents to Korea to work at farming or fishing villages located in regions close to their schools, the Ministry of Justice said Sunday.

According to the ministry, parents of foreign students who are enrolled in universities outside the greater Seoul area for more than a year, can work as seasonal laborers for up to eight months in the region where their children are studying.

To be qualified for the pilot program, which will last until the end of the year, the parents should be 55 or younger and have no criminal records or health issues. Their children should also have no records of violating Korean laws and there should be more than two semesters left before they apply for the permit.

Foreign students enrolled in university language courses are excluded from the program.

Korea has been running the seasonal worker scheme to allow the legal hiring of foreign workers for a short period to address chronic labor shortages during the busy farming and fishing seasons.

So far, the scheme has been available for the relatives of marriage migrants, residents of foreign local governments who have signed related memoranda of understanding with their Korean counterparts or those who have visas allowing seasonal work, such as the D-1, D-2 or D-4.

The government’s decision to extend the program to include the parents of foreign students is based on positive outcomes observed in previous participants, such as relatives of marriage migrants. These individuals exhibited early settlement capabilities and demonstrated a low likelihood of departing from Korea without proper authorization.

“The Ministry of Justice will thoroughly analyze any difficulties during the operation of the pilot projects and improve the system, to assist 131 participating Korean local governments to operate the system smoothly,” a ministry official said.