ADRN

Lecture 6

East Asia Institute (EAI) and Korea Foundation co-hosted on the KF-EAI Korea Friendship event, a series of educational and networking program, for international students residing in South Korea. There are 7 consecutive lectures on Korea and 1 field trip on Korean history.

Yoo, Soon-Shin, the CEO of You & Partners Inc., has observed a major change in the recent Korean job market. She highlighted that the increasing retirement age, growing anticipation of and preparation for the onset of Fourth Industrial Revolution are important factors to the recent major changes. There has been a growing demand for applicants who have the necessary skills needed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Through an example of a blind hiring system in South Korea, she has also highlighted that educational background, gender, age, and ethnicity are becoming less important in the job market.

In addition, she mentioned that language and cultural barriers still remain key obstacles to the employability of foreign students. However, she mentioned that the hiring system for foreigners is changing. Instead of hiring ‘best’ people based on achievements and skills, companies have sought to find people with the right attitude and the drive to do their best.