Study Abroad Guide
Part-time jobs in Korea for international students
1. Benefits of working part-time in Korea
Korea is one of the countries with a fairly high cost of living, especially in big cities like Seoul and Busan. Finding a part-time job will help international students have more income to support their daily living expenses.
During the part-time job, international students can also access more Korean, contributing to improving their foreign language as well as increasing their communication skills.
At the same time, the part-time working environment will help international students have more opportunities to meet and connect with Koreans, thereby understanding more about the culture and people of this country.
2. Subjects and conditions allowed to work part-time
International students in the University (D-2), Language (D-4-1), College (D-2-1) programs are all allowed to work part-time, but must meet the following conditions:
For D4 Visa subjects
Only after 6 months of enrollment are they allowed to work part-time.
If you have Topik 2 and are studying at a priority school, you are allowed to work 25 hours/week, 10 hours/day on Saturdays and Sundays.
If you have Topik 2 and are studying at a non-priority school, you are allowed to work 20 hours/week, 10 hours/day on Saturdays and Sundays. If you do not have Topik 2, you are only allowed to work 10 hours/week and 5 hours/day on Saturdays and Sundays.
For D2 Visa holders
For D2-1/ D2-2:
There is no requirement to work after 6 months, you are allowed to start working immediately.
If you have Topik 3 and are studying at a priority school, you are allowed to work 25 hours/week, unlimited hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
If you have Topik 3 and are studying at a non-priority school, you are allowed to work 20 hours/week, unlimited hours on Saturdays and Sundays. If you do not have Topik 3, you can only work 10 hours/week and 5 hours/day on Saturday and Sunday.
For D2-3:
International students in Korea will be able to work immediately without having to wait 6 months.
If you have Topik 4 and are studying at priority schools, you are allowed to work 35 hours/week. You can work unlimited hours on Saturday and Sunday.
If you have Topik 4 and are studying at non-priority schools, you are allowed to work 30 hours/week and 5 hours/day on Saturday and Sunday. If you do not have Topik 4, you are only allowed to work 15 hours/week and Saturday. You can work up to 15 hours on Sunday for both days.
Note:
There is no time limit on weekends and holidays for some cases, but you must register with the Immigration Department. You can only work overtime according to the content licensed by the Immigration Office.
On the other hand, international students in Korea are not allowed to work part-time in factories or workshops at any time. If they are caught working part-time without permission, they may be fined (with the school’s guarantee) or deported.
3. Jobs allowed to do part-time in Korea
Serving in restaurants, bars, karaoke bars
Selling cosmetics, hand-carried goods
Cleaning, cutting, trimming ornamental plants
Assisting on farms
Interpreting, tour guides, teaching assistants, tutoring Vietnamese for Korean students
Working in factories such as: doing chores in garment factories, part-time for fast food factories, sorting fruits in fruit juice factories…
Working as a cashier, sorting goods in convenience stores or mini supermarkets.
4. Jobs that are not allowed to be done part-time in Korea
Illegal jobs such as debt collection, entertainment at bars, entertainment venues, etc.
Work at research institutes or high-tech parks with recruitment restrictions for security reasons
Works that are restricted by the Minister of Justice
5. Income from part-time jobs when studying abroad in Korea
For part-time jobs at school: usually you will receive a salary of 7 – 10 USD/hour. Working as a research assistant, teaching assistant, tour guide, etc., the salary will be higher, usually from 700,000 – 1,000,000 won/month.
With a good level of Korean, you can work as an interpreter with a salary of about 200,000 – 400,000 won/day.
For part-time jobs in restaurants, karaoke bars, etc., the salary is about 7,000 won/hour.
You can also teach Vietnamese to Koreans who love Vietnamese culture, they are very open to learning a new language. You will receive about 25,000 won/hour for each hour of teaching Vietnamese.
6. Some reputable job search websites in Korea
These websites provide thousands of reputable job opportunities in many fields, to help international students easily find jobs.
Saramin: https://www.saramin.co.kr.
Job Korea: http://www.jobkorea.co.kr/recruit/home.
PeoplenJob https://www.peoplenjob.com/jobs.
Findjob: http://www.findjob.co.kr.
Career: http://www.career.co.kr.
Work: https://www.work.go.kr/…/empInfo…/list/dtlEmpSrchMain.do.
Incruit: https://www.incruit.com.
