From visas to job hunting: Jably aims to ease administrative burden for international students

As international students in Korea continue to face complex regulatory hurdles regarding visas, admissions and hiring, local startups are stepping in with digital solutions.

Kim Hyung-ju, the CEO of Jably, is developing "K-Tag," a platform designed to assist students with education, employment and daily administrative tasks.

“Our ultimate goal is to create a pipeline that connects qualified international students with universities, immigration offices and corporate recruiters,” Kim said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday.

The interview took place at its research and development center located at the Enterprise Hub Startup Zone in Pangyo, Gyeonggi, a tech cluster established by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and co-operated by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development and the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation.

Founded in October 2023 in Yeosu, South Jeolla, Jably was recently selected for the Tech Incubation Program for Startup (TIPS), securing critical government funding to advance its system.

The inspiration behind Jably stems from Kim’s firsthand encounter with the harsh realities faced by foreign workers. While working on a logistics development system for his previous company, he was shocked to discover that roughly 1,200 foreigners arrived at a single logistics warehouse each night to work.

“It was completely unexpected,” Kim recalled. “What struck me even more was that around 90 percent of them were working illegally. They had valid visas to stay in Korea, but they lacked the specific work permits required for employment.”

Under current immigration laws, international students on D-2 (student) or D-4 (language trainee) visas must obtain official permission from the immigration office before taking on part-time work. Witnessing this systemic gap became the primary catalyst for Kim to launch Jably. He envisioned a service that could guide foreigners to legal employment at an affordable price, bypassing costly agencies.

To bridge this gap, Jably has already signed memorandums of understanding with more than 30 universities across the country. Kim pointed to the grim employment landscape for international graduates.

“Last year, Chonnam National University's Yeosu campus saw 598 international students graduate, but not a single one secured a job that met the four basic social insurance standards,” Kim noted, highlighting the systemic failure in retaining global talent.

“Immigration offices in Korea do not operate under a unified system,” Kim explained. “Visa approval often depends heavily on the individual officer or the specific branch reviewing the case, and they rarely provide clear reasons for a rejection.”

K-Tag plans to upload successful visa application samples and develop a data-driven system that calculates a user's likelihood of visa approval.

When the service officially launches next year, Kim expects to attract at least 100,000 subscribers. Available in English and Korean, the service will be provided to students at an "extremely low" price point while generating revenue through B2B models targeting corporations and universities.

To ensure the platform addresses genuine expat needs, five out of Jably’s 16 employees are foreign nationals hailing from Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Mongolia and Italy. These employees help market the service and gather feedback from their respective global communities. The startup also hosts "Beyond the Border," an open forum dedicated to listening to the real-life struggles of foreigners in Korea.

Currently, Jably operates an offline logistics center management service as a testbed, distributing foreign workers across different packing lines based on daily parcel volumes. Beyond employment, the company is securing MOUs with key service sectors to ensure a true one-stop experience.

“Aside from a visa, the most essential necessities for an expat landing in Korea are a phone number, a bank account and health insurance,” Kim said. “We are partnering with major firms in each of these sectors to integrate them into K-Tag.”

As Korea grapples with demographic shifts, Kim believes attracting and integrating global talent is no longer optional.

“With the national population declining, retaining foreign talent has become essential for the country's survival,” Kim stressed. “By successfully commercializing K-Tag next year and securing further investment, I hope to build a platform that truly helps the country.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO   [[email protected]]