Over a couple of years, the number of international citizens coming to Korea for job opportunities has been on a steady increase and just as you guessed, a vast majority of international citizens have been coming to South Korea for job positions, especially teaching jobs especially the position of an English teacher.
The reason why many international citizens come to South Korea to work as English teachers is because of the high demand for teachers of the native English Language.
Although, for other occupations, getting a job offer might not be as easy it is for an English teacher but it is still possible to get a job in South Korea.
Source: iStockphotos.com
How to get work in South Korea as an international citizen
There are three known ways to get a non-teaching job in South Korea. They are:
- Apply for the job from your home country
If you get to South Korea before applying for a job as an international citizen, it might be trickier and more difficult for you so it is best to find a job before moving to South Korea. You can either find branches in South Korea affiliated with the company you work at in your home country or you do research on the different job offers you can find, read the job description and see if it’s something you can do.
- F-series Visa
Although this is not a good option for people that are applying for job opportunities in South Korea for the first time, it is still one of the options that makes getting a job offer in South Korea easy and is best for international citizens that are married to a Korean or have had a specific job position or several job positions (within the same niche) for a while.
The F-series Visa is one of the many types of work visas and it is a good way to get a non-teaching job in South Korea because you have no need for a visa sponsorship from a company and this gives you a long list of job positions and companies to choose from and apply to.
- Graduate from a University in Korea
As a graduate of any Korean University with a bachelor’s or master’s degree, you can work in South Korea. This is a great alternative for people that cannot use the F-series Visa option as a newbie. Note that you are not limited to getting a job offer related to what to study
Work visa in South Korea
Regardless of what job position you want to apply for, you need to have a work visa as an international citizen.
Depending on what type of job you want to apply for, there are different types of work visas and they are:
- The F-series
- The E-series
- The F-series
- The H-series and
- The C-series
You can read more about them here:
● www.gone2korea.com
● btwvisas.com
Source: iStockphotos.com
Is speaking Korean necessary to get a job in South Korea?
Contrary to what people think, it is not necessary for you to speak Korean in order to get a job in South Korea although speaking Korean will definitely give you a higher chance of getting jobs, especially non-teaching jobs.
Minimum Wage in South Korea
Irrespective of the fact that every job position has its different pay grade, the current average pay grade in South Korea is ₩9,160 per year.
Requirements to work in South Korea as an international citizen
Considering the fact that requirements to work in South Korea as an international student may vary from one company to another, the general requirements you can find in every company are:
- Visa application.
- Valid travel passport.
- Proof of payment of visa application fee.
- University certificate (bachelor’s degree or master’s degree).
- Proof of expertise in your field.
- Letter of employment.
- A criminal record check.
- Medical statement.
- Proof of identification.
- Korean proficiency test (TOPIK) for non-teaching jobs and English proficiency test for teaching jobs(IELTS, TOEFL, IEPS, TOEIC).
The benefits of working in South Korea are many ranging from good paygrade to a safe environment to diverse culture and many more and this is what keeps an attractive lot of international citizens to South Korea for job opportunities. It is important to make sure that you are fit to stay away from your home country before taking all the necessary steps to work in South Korea and make sure that every job position you apply for is authentic to avoid falling for a fraudulent scheme.
