KDU Global Part-time Job Support

KDU Global practices a unique part-time job support system for international students, who wish to engage with local businesses, communities, and enhance their Korean skills and understanding of local lifestyle without compromising their education and extracurricular activities.

International Student Services Center – a special designated division at KDU Global, helps students with the entire process of finding and formalizing part-time jobs. Services include recommending students for local businesses with vacancies, guiding with permissions from the local immigration office, providing Korean language training materials, reporting changes in job places, ensuring safety and security at potential workplaces, protecting the rights of students, and many more.

Process and documentation

Students, who would like to engage in part-time employment, must visit the Student Services Center and sign up for part-time job counselling and placement list. Placements are offered in the order of the students on the list.

With the guidance by the Student Services Center, students who are placed in part-time jobs need to prepare and submit the following documents to obtain permission from the local immigration office:

• Passport
• Alien Residence Card (ARC)
• Application form (available at Student Services Center)
• Valid language proficiency certificate (English or Korean)
• Part-time Employment Confirmation Form (provided by Student Services Center)
• Copy of employment contract
• Copy of business license (provided by the employer)

Other documents may be required depending on individual cases.

Eligibility Requirements

While the Student Services Center consistently ensures that job opportunities are available at any point, all international students at KDU Global must meet the following part-time job support eligibility requirements:

• Students must maintain a minimum rate of class attendance:
  
  • 80% for undergraduate students (based on the last semester completed).
  • 90% for language training students (based on all terms completed).
• Undergraduate students must possess a GPA higher than 2.0 (C0) at the end of the last semester completed (not applicable to the first semester students).
• Students must demonstrate a basic level of communication skills in Korean (see the information on Korean language training and additional official language requirements for working hours below).
• Students who reside in the Campus dormitories must not have accumulated over 60 penalty points at the time of application for part-time job support.

Students must also keep the following in mind:

• Students who are enrolled in language training programs with D-4 visas, i.e. Korean for Academic Purposes or English for Academic Purposes, at KDU Global are not allowed to work part-time during the first six months of their study.
• It is strictly prohibited for students to engage in any part-time employment without official permission from the local immigration office. However, those who engage in on-campus part-time internship or work are exempted from the permission requirement.
• Undergraduate students who are enrolled in additional semesters due to their failure to graduate on time are not eligible to work part-time.
• Students who discontinue their part-time employment at their own will or due to their misconduct at their workplace are not eligible for part-time job support for at least three months.

Korean Language Training

International students must keep in mind that it is practically impossible for them to work part-time without a basic level of Korean. Therefore, students must be able to demonstrate a certain level of communication in Korean to qualify for part-time job support by the Student Services Center.

KDU Global offers various language training courses for international students. All undergraduate students in English medium courses are required to complete additional Korean training classes in their first semesters. Students enrolled in the English for Academic Purposes program and those who are not eligible for part-time job support due to lack of Korean skills are also provided special Korean communication classes outside their study curriculums.

All additional Korean classes are fully sponsored by KDU Global!

Scope and Types of Part-time Employment

International students may engage in part-time employment in accordance with the pertinent immigration laws and regulations. Working at convenience stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and other activities commonly done by students are allowed.

Students are restricted from working part-time in the following fields*:

• Private tutoring.
• Facilities related to teaching the underage, e.g., English cafes/camps.
• Construction, manufacturing, fishing industries which require special permissions.
• Delivery services, subcontracting, dispatching jobs, or any work in similar nature.
• Professional jobs requiring particular permissions and skills, e.g., high-tech industries, research laboratories, etc.
• Businesses and activities related to gambling, merrymaking, prostitution, massage parlors, or activities contrary to good morals and ethics.
• Jobs that are a long distance from KDU Global.
• Other businesses and activities that deviate from the ‘student’ status or mandated restricted by the judicial authorities.

*International Student Services Center provides detailed guidance on the types of jobs permitted and auxiliary exceptions feasible.

Working Hours and Remuneration

Upon receiving official permit from the local immigration office:

• Undergraduate students may work up to 25 hours per week (without any limit on weekends and vacations)
• Language training students (with D-4 visas) can work up to 20 hours a week.

Students who do not possess a valid certificate of language proficiency (IELTS 5.5 or equivalent for English medium courses and TOPIK Level 3 for Korean medium courses) can work ½ of the maximum hours allowed.

Most part-time student jobs in Korea pay minimum or somewhat higher than minimum hourly wages. The minimum wage rate for 2024 is KRW 9,860 and may be revised annually. Based on international student surveys, average earnings from part-time employment range from KRW 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 during semesters and KRW 1,600,000 to KRW 2,200,000 during vacations.

It is important for all international students to keep in mind that part-time employment cannot and should not be considered as the main source of financing for their educational and living expenses in the country. KDU Global does not provide any support if any student’s academic performance or campus involvement is adversely affected by part-time employment.

Students should visit the Student Services Center for detailed information regarding part-time job support and to take advantage of other student-care services effectively!