As South Korea’s corporate landscape becomes increasingly global, more young foreigners are landing full-time jobs not only in research labs and boardrooms, but also in planning, development and other office-based roles—marking a shift from the country’s traditional view of foreign hires as either top executives or low-wage laborers.
At SK Telecom’s artificial intelligence division, Nadia, 30, from Indonesia, and Funda, 26, from Türkiye, work as full-time employees. Both graduated from Korean universities before joining the company.
“As we grow our AI business overseas, we need people with different backgrounds and skills who can think beyond the usual ways we do things in Korea,” a company official said.
Hyundai Motor Group is taking a similar approach. Since last year, the company has been running an internship program specifically for foreign students at Korean universities, with the goal of hiring successful participants as full-time staff.
Earlier this month, Hyundai posted an opening for a five-week internship across departments such as research and development, business, and planning. Interns will be evaluated on the same terms as domestic applicants.
Until recently, foreign hires in S. Korea were largely associated with either elite-level recruitment—such as chief executives or highly specialized researchers—or with physically demanding jobs in factories and construction.
However that perception is changing. More Korean companies, including major conglomerates, are beginning to see young foreign workers as valuable assets who can bring new perspectives to white-collar and research positions.
It’s not just small and mid-sized businesses struggling with labor shortages that are hiring foreign youth. Major Korean conglomerates are also actively joining the effort. And they’re no longer seen as a stopgap to fill empty seats—more companies are beginning to view these workers as skilled professionals who can contribute meaningfully to the business.
Big firms are now paying attention to not only Korean jobseekers in their 20s and 30s, but also to young foreign talent.
One reason is the growing need to expand into global markets. Foreign students who earned their degrees in South Korea are seen as especially valuable. They speak their native languages, but are also fluent in Korean and well-versed in the culture—making them ready to hit the ground running from day one.
The number of such foreign students is rising fast. With Korean pop culture—from music and TV dramas to food—gaining global popularity, more young people around the world are developing a positive image of the country. The number of international students in S. Korea climbed from 197,000 in 2022 to 264,000 in 2024. If current trends continue, that figure is expected to surpass 300,000 by the end of this year.
Many of these students want to stay. According to a recent survey by the Korea Federation of SMEs, 86.5% of 805 foreign students said they hoped to work in S. Korea after graduation. Top reasons included wanting to continue living in the country (35.2%), the higher wages compared to their home countries (27.7%), and the opportunity to work in a field they care about (25.6%).
With this growing interest, more companies are creating new recruitment pathways. LG Innotek, which earns 96% of its revenue from overseas markets, began offering internship opportunities in 2023 to international students enrolled in Korean universities. Food company Ottogi also hires foreign applicants through a separate process from its domestic recruitment.
Human resources platforms are following suit. JobKorea launched a foreigner-focused job app called “Click” last year, and found that half of the profiles created belonged to people in their 20s—matching the age group most active in the new wave of hiring.
Meanwhile, small and mid-sized companies are asking the government to make it easier for these students to join the workforce, particularly in manufacturing and other industries struggling with labor shortages. To work legally after graduation, international students must obtain an E-7 visa for specialized employment. But as of last year, only 2,407 students—less than 1% of all foreign students—were granted the visa.
