▲ Free Source for Youth Overseas Employment (Source Miri canvas)

Last summer, an overseas employment support project was launched with local governments and universities to make a breakthrough in employment due to the worsening domestic employment environment. The project aims to help CWNU graduates and prospective graduates to enter the overseas job market by providing field working opportunities, improving global sense & ability, and individual competency. The project has been carried out since 2011 under the name of the Overseas Internship Project, but was suspended for three years due to COVID- 19, and resumed this year under the new name. The United States is the target country for this project. The trainees will leave the country in December after orientation and pre- education, and return in December 2024 after a year of internship work. We met Hwang Kyung- eun, an undergraduate of the Department of International Trade, and Jang Hanbyeol, an undergraduate of the Department of International Relations, to listen to the stories of students preparing to depart abroad.

Q. What motivated you to participate in this project?

Hwang: I applied because I thought my overseas experience would be an advantage for my future career. I have wanted to work in a foreign country since I was young, and I knew that the size of the overseas market was larger than that of Korea. The trainees of this project can apply to various companies they wanted to work for before leaving the United States. There are companies including Korean companies, companies owned by Korean expatriates, and local companies in the U.S., and I thought that having working experience there would be helpful.

Jang: I wanted to take an adventure for a new experience. I was hesitant at first, but gained confidence through the English- lounge working activities on campus, so I applied immediately thinking I won’t have a chance to go abroad afterwards. It costs a lot to live outside the country, and the major advantage of this project was that if I could make money as an intern, the burden during my stay would be reduced. I also liked that there would be a network between participants because we are departing for the United States together.

Q. According to the project promotion schedule, a total of 16 pre- training sessions are scheduled, including orientation for each successful candidate before departure, language education, and job training. What education have you received thus far?

Hwang: In the orientation for successful candidates, we heard about what kind of country the United States is, what companies we can apply for, and what a realistic American intern life is like. We were also educated about the steps to take after completing the one- year course, what direction we could choose and what benefits we could have.

Jang: Pre- training was scheduled to be conducted twice a week, but it was changed to three hours of training once a week during the process of agreement between the trainees. We have had two training sessions so far, and are in the process of writing Korean and English resumes to be sent to sponsor organizations that act as bridges between the companies we apply for.

Q. What are you personally most worried about while you are preparing for the departure?

Hwang: I'm worried about doing my job as an intern. Overseas employment is on a global scale. I experienced a working- holiday in Australia, and when I returned to Korea, I spoke English well, but there were many moments when I was unsure whether I could break through the language barrier. Since returning to Korea, I have only been speaking in English to native English teachers and friends. Therefore, I am worried about whether I can provide enough service in a business situation or cope with unexpected situations at work in foreign languages.

Jang: I am worried about the living environment and living conditions. From what I have found out, there were many cases of fraud when you get a house before actually arriving there, so I decided to go to the local area and find a room myself. Thanks to this project, the financial burden has been eased a little because it supports visa issuance cost and one- way plane ticket prices. Nevertheless, I am concerned about the high rent in the U.S., whether the shared house life that I may have to choose accordingly fits well, and not seeing my dog with my family.

Hwang Kyung- eun and Jang Han- byeol showed sincere preparations for the project by talking about realistic thoughts and concerns about job performance for living abroad. When we asked for advice from other CWNU students, the two students said, "It is a considerable advantage to be good at English," adding, "Study English diligently and actively use programs such as the English- lounge on campus." As exchanges abroad have been expanding since COVID- 19, it is hoped that the international challenges of CWNU students will ease and their representation of CWNU will shine.

By Kim So-ha, cub-reporter  lucky.river16@gmail.com

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