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Int'l students learn about jobs, industry and visas at Korea Foundation event

Published: 19 Sep. 2025, 18:31

LEE TAE-HEE
[email protected]

Son Hyun-mi, manager at the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency's Business Workforce Support Department talks during Experience Korea, Expanded on Sept. 19. [KOREA FOUNDATION]

While landing a job in Korea as an international student can be difficult, turning attention to city and government initiatives can help one find job openings and opportunities to gain experience.

Around 50 international students gathered at the Korea Foundation (KF) Global Center in Jung District, central Seoul, on Friday to attend the Experience Korea, Expanded event and listen to support programs that government organizations have created for them.

The event was organized with K-campus as part of the KF's seventh Public Diplomacy Week, which is set to offer a series of cultural events that celebrate countries that have ties to Korea through Sept. 27.

International students are one of the growing groups of foreigners in Korea, with organizations aiming to help the students stay after graduation.

"While meeting small- to mid-sized companies (SMEs), we found that there were a lot of companies that wanted to hire international students but struggled to find international students," said Son Hyun-mi, manager at the Business Workforce Support Department at the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (Kosme). "There were also international students that don't know where to go looking for jobs."

"One of the main goals the Korean government has is helping international students that are studying hard to later settle down in Korea, and we hope the students keep trying and also explore various SMEs."

One of the programs Kosme runs is the K-Export Training Academy, a career training program for international students interested in pursuing jobs in export and trade.

The agency also operates the K-Work platform, which lists jobs at SMEs that want to hire foreigners. Being run by a government organization, the website also helps companies hiring through K-Work issue the E-7-1 and E-7-4 work visas by offering recommendation letters.

"If you sign up as a member at K-Work, you can register your resume and have SMEs accesses it and reach out to you," said Son. "You can also search companies by region, and apply for jobs at certain companies."

"I've recommended 32 international students to get visas at Korean SMEs this year, and those students got jobs in desired areas and are receiving a large salary, with employers having high satisfaction as well."

Visa processes also tend to be fast with Kosme’s recommendation, with one job-seeker getting the E-7-1 in two weeks.

With the event being held in Seoul, information was shared on how the city aims to help talented international students settle.

One of the city's initiatives is the talent-matching project, which matches international job seekers with Seoul-based companies via the Seoul Talent Hub website. Many of the offered positions are in technology and creative industries like AI, bio, fintech, webtoons, games and media.

Koo Hong-seok, Ambassador for International Relations at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, talks during Experience Korea, Expanded on Sept. 19. [KOREA FOUNDATION]

Job fairs that introduce jobs at Seoul companies will be held as part of the Seoul Talent Acquisition·Relations (STA. R) project, with one scheduled for Poland on Oct. 18 and 19 and another in Singapore on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

"That means we are going out to headhunt global talent and match them with Korean companies," said Koo Hong-seok, ambassador for international relations at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. "If the matching goes well, support for appropriate visa arrangements and assistance for them to integrate into society will also be provided."

There are job fairs in Seoul as well, with Seoul set to hold the Job Fair for Internationals on Nov. 20 at Setec in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

The 30 days in Seoul program, which recently wrapped up applications for its second batch, is another program that introduces students to the city and also offers career training programs like resume writing sessions.

Apart from career-related help, Seoul also aims to financially support international students through scholarships.

The Seoul Tech Scholarship, first created in 2024, offers scholarships of around 20 million won ($14,320) per year for international students who will pursue master's degrees in fields such as AI, fintech, bio and robotics. Students must be nationals of countries that participated in the Korean War under the UN or from Seoul's sister or friendship cities. They must also be enrolled in the following nine partner universities: Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Kwangwoon University, Seokyung University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, University of Seoul, Sungkyunkwan University, Sookmyung Women's University and Soongsil University.

There were 67 students who applied for the scholarship this year, with 15 getting selected.

"This can be expanded, and it's up to our budget," said Ko. "And it is our goal to expand our budget to accommodate more students through the Seoul Tech Scholarship."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]