Profiles Sought

Companies tend to seek candidates with experience or expertise that is difficult to find among Korean professionals.

Candidates with highly sought-after profiles often hold a Master’s degree, MBA, or PhD.

Young foreign graduates may also find opportunities with international groups through foreign talent recruitment programs and recruitment tests conducted by major corporations. Recruitment by SMEs is more challenging, but remains possible with the right connections.

The required qualifications are as follows:

• Bachelor’s degree (3-year university degree) with 1 year of professional experience* or Master’s degree (4-year university degree)
• A language certificate such as TOEIC, TOEFL, or IELTS may be required

The degree obtained and professional experience acquired must be relevant to the position being recruited for.

Companies generally recruit foreign professionals for senior-level positions and roles requiring highly specific qualifications:

Engineers, IT specialists, financial controllers, marketing professionals, project managers, etc.

Knowledge of Korean remains the main asset, without which any job search is likely to be significantly more difficult.

Indeed, most information and transactions are conducted in Korean and require simultaneous interpretation for foreign representatives who do not speak Korean.

This is also true within French companies established in Korea, which predominantly employ local staff, with the exception of senior management positions. Learning Korean is therefore strongly recommended for anyone planning a long-term stay. Korean language courses are available at universities, as well as through public and private training institutions.

Some Korean language training organizations:

<Public Institutions>

• Seoul Global Center

<Universities>

• Korean Language & Culture Center – Korea University
• Language Center – Ewha Womans University
• Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
• International Language Institute – Hanyang University
• Korea Foreign Language Institute – Konkuk University
• International Institute of Education – Kyung Hee University
• Language Education Institute – Seoul National University
• Korean Language Education Center – Sogang University
• Korean Language Institute – Sungkyunkwan University
• Korean Language Institute – Yonsei University

For the few positions that do not require Korean, strong English proficiency is essential, while knowledge of Mandarin or Japanese can be an additional advantage.

Furthermore, in some major industrial groups, knowledge of Arabic, Spanish, or Russian may represent a significant asset.