International students often face substantial tuition fees and living expenses. Part-time jobs provide them with the means to cover these costs and ease the financial burden.
When international students arrive in a foreign land to pursue their dreams of higher education, they often face a multitude of challenges.
They often face substantial tuition fees and living expenses. Part-time jobs provide them with the means to cover these costs and ease the financial burden.
Among these challenges, managing finances can be a significant concern. Part-time jobs have become a lifeline for many international students, not only for financial support but also as a means of fostering connections and cultural exchange. In this blog post, we'll delve into the world of part-time jobs and how international students are helping their fellow students navigate this aspect of life abroad.
Foreign students can work part-time in South Korea without necessarily needing a work permit, their student visa which is valid for more than one year can suffice. However, foreign students who wish to find part-time employment in South Korea must have completed at least one semester of their studies before they can do so.
International students can approach their university staff or their advisors in their faculty and request for a form that reads ‘Part-Time Work of Foreign Students Confirmation Form’. After doing so, the student must take the signed form to the immigration office nearby where they will be given permission. This permission enables the student to seek both internal or external part-time work at any Korean establishment.
Finding part-time employment is not always easy but extremely rewarding as the pay is very favorable. One of the easiest ways to get employed in Korea is by learning the dialect especially if you reside outside of the main cities and districts, many of the part-time jobs available require communication or verbal exchange with native speakers and employers lookout for individuals with a more than average.
Basic Korean language proficiency is essential as a prerequisite
There is currently quite a high demand for native English speakers in South Korea so most foreign students take up tutoring jobs teaching the English language as a foreign language. In Korea, there is a phenomenon called the ‘Haegwon’ which is an afterschool academy where students go and gain additional knowledge in maths, science, language, and even extracurriculars.
Talent or vocational skills can also be developed at certain Haegwons in the country, foreigners can apply to teach or tutor in these academies as a part-time instructor.
The Diversity of Korea's Entertainment Industry
International student can also find part-time employment in the world of entertainment, there is a huge entertainment industry in Korea for foreigners which consists of pro-athletes, actors, as well as tv and internet personalities. These jobs require some level of Korean knowledge and are given by recommendation or connection.
International students often share their personal experiences working part-time, including the challenges they faced and the skills they developed. This firsthand knowledge can be incredibly helpful for newcomers.
We advise that you build your contacts immediately you get into the campus, make friends with the natives and be friendly to the people around you, chances are they might recommend you for a job in the entertainment sector. Also use social media very well, promote your skill or talent online and you might gain recognition which can easily translate to several monetary benefits in the country.
1. Pro-Athletes: South Korea boasts a robust sports culture, and international students with athletic talents can find opportunities to participate in sports or join local sports clubs.
2. Acting and Modeling: Aspiring actors and models may find part-time roles as extras or in commercials. The entertainment industry often seeks diverse faces, making it more accessible to international students.
3. TV and Internet Personalities: Participation in variety shows, online content creation, and hosting events can be lucrative part-time jobs for those with charisma and communication skills.
Regulations
Working in Korea is possible for foreign students as long as they are doing it legally and according to the Korean government’s regulations. According to the Guidelines on the Employment of International Students in Korea by the National Institute of International Education (NIIED), below are the rules that foreign students need to follow:
In general, students are only allowed to do hourly work such as a part-time job (low-skilled labor), however private tutoring is highly restricted.
Students must have a certain level of Korean proficiency and have received approval from their school’s Office of International Affairs (OIA).
The level of Korean proficiency will determine how many hours the students can work.
If the student is found to be in illegal employment, both the student and his/her employer will be punished according to the law (their visa might be revoked and, in extreme cases, could lead to deportation ).
Legally allows international student to get parttime job in korea
In order to legally work in Korea, international students must do some paperwork first. To submit the documents, they can go to hikorea.go.kr. (Korean immigration online service) and apply. Here is the list of documents that the applicant needs to prepare.
Part-time Job Request Form
Academic transcript
Certificate of Enrollment
Labor Contract
Certificate of Korean Proficiency
After submitting your document package, the immigration office will then decide if the applicant can start working or not. Another thing to note, only students with valid D-2 and D-4 visas can work in Korea part-time as a student. If the student will graduate soon or he/she would like to continue working in Korea after completing their education, they need to apply for a different type of visa. This has to be done immediately before starting to work.
Job-seeking apps/sites
Looking for the right job in Korea can be challenging. Especially when most of the job postings require you to already have a valid working visa. So, you have to make sure that you can legally work in Korea with your student visa. How do you seek the right one then? Some of these sites might be helpful:
Saramin
Craiglist
알바천국 – Alba Cheonguk (Mobile app)
알바몬 – Alba Mon (Mobile app)
jobkorea
jobplanet
koreners
worker
hirediversity
Some of them might be available only in Korean, but some also have English service options available. I do recommend using the filter function on some of them to look specifically for part-time jobs. Also, other than those apps and sites, you could also try looking for job postings in Facebook groups.
Cautions!
While searching for the right part-time job, there are some things that you need to be aware of.
First, when looking for a job opportunity, you have to check all the details. Make sure that it is the type of work that you can do with your student visa. Other than that, pay attention to the job description and the requirements. Some places try to take advantage of foreigners. If you find it suspicious, just report it to the app/site’s customer service or the group admin and look for other postings.
Second, pay attention to the contract. After getting the job, you want to have everything about the contract clearly explained. Therefore, you need to ask your employer for adequate information if something isn’t clear. Labor rights
don’t always apply to foreigners, so your contract will be your main form of legal protection. This is the minimum information that your contract must contain:
Your Name, the Employer’s/ Company’s Name
Type of Work
Your Hourly Wage
Working Hours
Responsibilities
Contract Duration
Company’s Business Registration Number
Third, make sure to report your part-time employment to the immigration office. This is a very important step to do as a foreign student to be able to work in Korea risk-free. You can always refer to the sections above to make sure that you have followed the rules. If you fail to do this, the consequences might lead to your visa getting revoked and you will be deported from Korea. So, please keep this in mind before you start working in Korea.
International students are eager to land opportunities to intern at Korean companies or nongovernmental organizations while here studying at Korean universities, but many do not know where to begin.
The easiest way would be to search for job postings on each university’s office of international affairs websites or on popular job searching apps like LinkedIn, Wanted or Saramin, but internship opportunities may be hard to come by for non-Koreans staying in the country on student visas.
International student visas, officially known as either a study abroad D-2 or D-4 visa, limit the scope of available internships.
Most internships offer full-time hours, and while Korean students can take a leave of absence to intern, the study abroad visa requires international students to be enrolled at school for the entirety of their stay. If they take a leave, their visa is annulled, leaving them with a month before they have to leave the country.
Even for jobs open to student visa holders, international students are often rejected due to language barriers, unfeasible work hours or employers’ preferences.
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