Government Programs
The World Job Department in the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea), organized by the government, offers lots of information about jobs overseas. It introduced many internship programs until last February, but now unfortunately just a few programs are going on because many people failed to get a regular job after their internship. Instead of internships, it provides more information about jobs overseas and vocational training courses. If you upload your resume, you receive a certificate number and you can use their online service. After registering, you can check information about employment in the country where you want to go. You can register your resume online, and companies can decide to pick you or not. Seoul citizens can use the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), which is similar to the World Job Department of HRD Korea. However, only Seoul citizens can use the service of SBA, unlike the World Job Department of HRD Korea, which is open to all Koreans. If there is no government program in the locality, local people have to use private agencies’ programs.
Private AgenciesMost people go on internships through private agencies. There are 60 private agencies licensed by the Ministry of Labor in Korea. 51 out of the 60 licensed private agencies are in Seoul. Realstone (www.realstone.co.kr) is the only private licensed company in Daegu. It has 39 enlisted students who passed its English interview and are preparing to go on internships. 38 of them are preparing hotel internships as kitchen helpers, housekeepers, and front desk personnel, but only one is preparing a professional internship related to his major. A hotel internship is very useful to students who intend to improve their English and to have lots of cultural experiences, and it costs less money. However, if you want more than this, like vocational experience which is helpful to get a regular job overseas, you need to find specialized agencies for professional internships in fields such as accounting, trade, law, design, fashion, and marketing. Realstone said, to go for a professional internship, it is necessary to have excellent English communication skill and knowledge in your field. Kim Sang-hee, the CEO of Realstone, said that Daegu doesn’t have many qualified students for professional internships.
Just a few years ago many people who experienced internships were disappointed because they expected a professional internship, but it was just chores. Today, not a few private agencies are sending students to professional internships successfully. The period and cost of internship programs are different according to the workplace and duties, but the period of most internships is a year and most internship programs cost, excluding air fare, between 4.9 million won and 8 million won, which is used for a visa and sponsorship. For the processing fee of the agencies, about 4 hundred thousand won is added. The stipend for the duties is approximately 15 thousand dollars a year. The cost of an internship is lower than that of a language course, but people who hear the cost of an internship program think that the cost is expensive. For people who want work experience overseas for a short term, “Work and Travel,” which is similar to a hotel internship, is more suitable. Work and Travel is a program for university students to earn money for 2 to 4 months and travel for a month during vacation. The cost of Work and Travel is usually about 1.4 to 2.5 million won, excluding air fare and processing fee. This program is only for students registered in school, and they can participate just one time in their lives.
Work and Travel and hotel internships are recommended for people with not very much English communication skill who want to experience a foreign culture. However, if you want to experience a program not in a hotel or a resort, but in a law firm or an accounting company, you should have excellent English communication skills. A professional internship doesn’t require any scores of tests like TOEIC or TOEFL. Each agency has its own standard of English ability. Agencies process only qualified applicants who pass their own tests. Most foreign companies ask for an interview by phone.
There has been a lot of deceit by private agencies not licensed by the government. Therefore, you should be careful in selecting an agency. You should check whether it is accredited by the government and whether applicants are insured against loss of their money. You should also check policies for refunds. Of course, it is important to choose a company which specializes in the programs you want. You should visit the agency after checking information on the Internet or consulting the agency's staff on the phone. Some agencies have their own fields and specialized programs and you can be perplexed at their promotion of specific internships when you talk with them face to face.
University ProgramsMore and more universities are conducting their own internship programs and adapting their systems to give credits through international internships, for example, Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, Kyungpook National University, Yeungnam University, and Yonsei University. Most universities don’t support the program costs that much, compared with other programs in universities, but Sungkyunkwan University and Hanyang Universiy offer much of the expense. Sungkyunkwan University provides all the cost of the internship. Hanyang University offers up to half of the cost, and offers air fare and 1.5 million won when students go on an internship through private agencies.
Keimyung University formed the International Internship Committee with 6 professors in the Office of Employment Support. It is expected to announce the regulations and procedures for international internships in September, and to hold the first internship program in this coming winter vacation. An internship program open to all students hasn’t been set up yet, but small programs by the Dept. of Tourism Management (about 10 students a year), the Dept. of Taekwondo (4), and FISEP (10) are going on. Many students expect useful and various internship programs with sufficient funding from our university. The “Gazette” is going to offer news and information from the committee on our web service, http//gazette.gokmu.com, as swiftly as possible.
(Special thanks to Realstone and Shice, which organizes professional internships in Seoul, for their cooperation in the preparation of this article)
