Asia

Nepali psychiatrist guidance for Nepalese in Korea

Many Nepalis in South Korea arrive through the Employment Permit System labour agreement between the two governments, working in manufacturing, agriculture, fishing or construction, often in smaller industrial towns rather than Seoul, alongside a smaller but growing number of international students. A hierarchical workplace culture, demanding shift patterns, and the Korean language requirement for both work permits and daily life can be genuinely isolating, especially outside the capital where fewer Nepali workers are nearby. Company dormitories or shared worker housing can also mean little privacy, and taking time off during the day for an appointment is not always straightforward to arrange. Physically demanding labour, restricted free time, and the pressure of remittances to support family back home combine with the everyday difficulty of being far from familiar food, festivals and community. Mental health struggles are still something many feel they must hide from employers or colleagues, fearing it could be read as a sign of weakness or unreliability. Younger Nepalis who arrive drawn by an idealised, media-shaped image of Korea sometimes face a harder adjustment when the reality of factory floors and dormitory life does not match that picture, and that gap between expectation and daily experience is itself something worth discussing openly rather than carrying alone.