FIFA Secretary General Urs Linsi, left, and German referee Markus Merk pose with the official World Cup soccer ball prior to a news conference in Neu Isenburg, near Frankfurt, central Germany, Tuesday, March 21, 2006 on occasion of a five-day training program for the referees of the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)



University Students’ Growing Overseas Internships

Kim Hyun Joo, a senior majoring in International Trade at Dong Seo University, is in trouble because of growing barriers in the domestic employment market. She went abroad to learn English, completing a yearlong English course in America, then worked at a ski resort in the US after the course, but couldn’t jump over the domestic employment hurdle.

In such a difficult situation, she turned her eyes toward an overseas internship offered by her college because she really wanted to take advantage of her overseas experience and major, so she applied for the internship without hesitation and was finally employed as a full-time employee by the Korean company Pulmuwon based in America.

A survey reveals a growing number of universities in Busan are playing a role in bridging their alumni to overseas Korean companies in order to resolve the domestic employment obstacles. According to colleges in Busan, in the wake of such endeavors the overseas employment rate has been rising between 50% and 70%, higher than their expectations.

Another local school, Kyungsung University, raised its employment rate by 70% by offering its students overseas internship positions: 21 students in China, 20 in Vietnam, and 17 in Indonesia. Since the overseas internship rate is growing, as a long-term goal, the University altered its Overseas Employment Supporting Center into the Center for Global Business Resources Pool.

Dongseo University also offers overseas job opportunities for students who apply for internships in the US, China, Japan, and other Asian countries. The university has a plan to expand the number of countries. A source from the university said, “To expand to other countries, faculty members visited Vietnam last month and have continually tried to negotiate with Korean overseas companies."
/ 입력시간: 2006. 03.22. 09:16