This is a post for young Working Holiday Visa Holders or to you who might want to work on a Student Visa in Korea. I’ve had both visas and worked multiple jobs on both. I see people on social media quite often asking about how to get jobs in Korea. How is working part time in Korea? Can I find a job quick? Is the pay/minimum wage good? Well, I have some experience I would like to share and if you also have something to add to this post please feel free to comment and I may add it on this list. 🙂 For a more detailed guide on how to find jobs in Korea click here. Here we go:
Working part time in Korea, Is it easy to find jobs?
Tricky question cause everyone has different experiences, I have heard that it is not easy and I can understand why. Korea has a big population so if you don’t speak Korean chances are smaller to finding a job because a Korean employer would rather hire a Korean citizen (a LOT of college kids work part-time here). BUT there are exceptions!
Babysitting
I got my first part time job in Korea by coincidence. My high school teacher saw on facebook that I started my exchange student year in Korea and contacted me. She said she knew a Swedish family living there and that they were looking for a Swedish babysitter. I was very surprised and happy cause I had just arrived in Korea and I already got a part-time job offer!
The family I babysat for were really kind and the kids were so happy, they could finally speak Swedish to somebody other than their parents. As for the pay I got 10 000won/h and they paid for my taxi home if it became too late. This is actually very good considering minimum wage to be around 7000won/h at the time. But I heard the new president will try to boost it up, hopefully, to 10 000won/h someday. So let’s keep our fingers crossed for that.
Swedish Audio Evaluator? (don’t remember the exact title)
My second job was quite a unique experience. I went on Craigslist Korea to look for part-time jobs and saw a company looking for a native Swedish person who could evaluate the quality of GPS audio files. So I got the job and started going to a recording studio once in a while. I would listen to a robot speaking Swedish, saying things like “Turn left after 500m”. So I had to explain how good the intonation sounded, if it was weird they had to try to fix it and once again I listened.
Honestly a very fun job. I did went in a few times and I also worked a bit from home by grading audio files that were sent to me. I got paid in cash after every 1~2h session and I got 50 000won. Easy money for a student who had some time to kill.
My current job at a Travel Agency
I’m current working part time in Korea at a travel agency. I’ve graduated and I’m currently on a Working Holiday Visa. I found this job on Craigslist Korea as well. My major was Communication Design and I had experience working with Social Media Marketing so I got this job based on that.
I’m their Social Media Manager/Content Creator. I get to travel and make videos, take photos, write blog posts, make products on the website etc. I’m really fortunate to have found such a fun job. It’s a start-up company so the pay is negotiable per project. It’s not bad for a job you enjoy doing and you get to learn and grow with the company.
Other jobs my friends have had
I’ve met a lot of foreigners by attending language programs, Hagwons, and other daily events. Many of them are also working part time in Korea on either a student or a WH visa. Some of them stay at guesthouses for free and work a few shifts at the reception and/or do some cleaning in exchange for the accomodation. I met a smart guy who made promotional videos for the Guesthouses in return for free accommodation and a small fee, he could then freely backpack Asia without spending too much.
If you know some Korean you could also be a waiter in Itaewon, I have seen job posts for that on Facebook and Craigslist.
I’ve also heard (and I myself got offered but declined) that Koreans often look for private tutors for their children or for themselves. Usually they look for native speakers to converse with. Some people get a crazy amount of pay and some don’t. If you’re not a certified teacher and you’re not sure what to take, I think 30 000won/h sounds like a fair price. Because I have looked around and seen offers from 20 000~50 000/h so try to negotiate if you are a young native speaker (or almost as good as one). Keep in mind this may not be legal on your visa, it’s an under the table job.
Conclusion
There ARE many jobs out there, you just have to ask yourself what do I like and what am I good at? Follow “jobs in Korea” pages on Facebook, be a social butterfly and tell people you are in Korea looking for jobs, somebody maybe knows somebody looking for someone… If you are a student at a University make sure to check out the school board/website forums. Look on websites such as:
Facebook Groups:
- Nonteaching jobseekers korea
- Working Holiday JOBs in Korea
- Jobs, working in Korea
- Part time and full time job in Seoul..
Working part time in Korea can be a lot of fun but the pay might be low in comparison to your home country and/or too stressful. I hope you succeed in finding a good job match for you! Let me know if I’ve missed something or if you don’t agree on something. This is just based on my experience and from what I’ve heard when speaking to foreigners in Korea. But I want to learn more so feel free to leave a comment. 😉
