To give young applicants work experience, CWNU had an internship program during the winter vacation for juniors and seniors majoring in humanities or business. The program was held at Sandong University (SDU) in China. Only 30 students were selected to participate in the internship, based on grades. Students were educated in Korea and China, and were fully funded by CWNU. Students expected to learn about the culture and structure of corporations in China during the internship.

However, the reality was different from their expectations. The company they had to work was not decided upon, even after they arrived in China. Schedules were suddenly cancelled, and students were never aware that they had to speak Chinese, though the Chinese company and SDU thought the students spoke Chinese fluently. Therefore, the students had to learn Chinese before working. After all training for the internship was done, the students were placed in the company. However, the work disregarded their majors. It was just simple physical labor. They had to work in a factory without any payment. Although it made students very embarrassed and angry, they had no choice but to do it. In addition, there was a meeting where the persons concerned visited China to look into the situation and to look after the students. At the meeting, the persons concerned had dinner together. They toured China as if they were on vacation, and they even used one student as a travel guide. The persons concerned did not check the conditions the students were facing. The students did a job satisfaction survey after every task was done, yet there was no communication during the meeting, and nothing changed.

The source of the problem is the attitude of both institutions, CWNU and SDU. CWNU did not do research about the company and SDU enough. The persons concerned were indifferent to what the students were encountering. Lack of communication between CWNU and SDU created bad results. They did not understand or care about the working conditions. They just passed the buck.

The students believe the meeting should have been more focused on them, what they did in the company, and what the working conditions were like. The job satisfaction survey should have been done early, and should have been used to improve the situation. The work should also have been related to their majors. The students did not think the trip was bad, but they want the person concerned to pay attention to them, and realize the truth about the internship program. The students hope the next participants will not suffer from the same problems.

Internship programs are important for young applicants. It is a good chance to work in a company. There are many things they do not learn in the classroom. They expect a certain kind of work, and try to learn about the field. However, this internship did not satisfy their needs because of the indifference and the lack of communication by those concerned. These people need to solve these problems and take responsibility for making better working conditions.

Jeong nan yi  powersoft3@naver.com

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