Labor ministry opens online signup for free Korean lessons for E-9 workers

The labor ministry said Thursday that foreign workers in Korea on E-9 visas can now sign up online for free Korean-language lessons, replacing a process that had required applicants to submit a form by email.

The service, called EPS-EDU, is run by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. All of its courses are free for E-9 visa holders, and instruction is available on PCs and mobile devices at any hour. Access may be suspended when an E-9 visa cannot be verified.

The service covers everyday Korean needed for daily life as well as practical vocabulary and expressions used on industrial worksites, from basic communication for living in Korea to terminology specific to factory and site work.

EPS-EDU has been operating since March 2025, with 30 e-learning courses, or 402 sessions, and 190 sessions of AI Speak, a speaking-practice feature. It is expanding this year: the program was limited to job seekers waiting in the 17 countries that send workers under the employment permit system, and is being widened to foreign workers already in Korea, with new material on labor rights and industrial safety and AI-assisted tutoring that tailors lessons to individual learners.

Workers who want to use the service can visit epsedu.masterk1.com and register before starting lessons.

"I hope EPS-EDU will help foreign workers improve their Korean and communicate more smoothly in daily life and at industrial worksites," said Lee Byung-hoon, president of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. "We will continue to provide a range of education services to support foreign workers' stable settlement in Korea and their adjustment to the working environment."