The ASEAN-Korea Centre will organize its annual 2020 ASEAN Youth Career Mentorship on Saturday to support ASEAN students in building their future careers in South Korea.

At the event, to be livestreamed at 11 a.m. on the center’s YouTube channel, Korean professionals as well as ASEAN mentors currently working in Korea are to share information on visa issues, job searching and career building.

This year’s mentorship program, which has been held every year since 2017, is composed of two sessions, inviting mentors including a CEO of a Korean company, a job consultant, attorneys and working professionals from ASEAN countries.

In the first session, Hwang Se-hun, an attorney from the law firm CHS, will deliver a presentation on visa-related issues, and Cha Jae-won, lead consultant from Trust One Consulting Group, will discuss the post-COVID-19 job market. Ha Yoon-hong, managing partner of the law firm Keumseong, will outline the recruiting process and requirements.

In the second session, ASEAN mentors currently working for Korean companies will interact in real time with participants and share their own experiences and tips for jobseekers in Korea.

The number of ASEAN students in Korea has shown a 13-fold increase from 4,781 in 2010 to 64,200 in 2019, and those students account for one-third of all foreign students in Korea, according to the ASEAN-Korea Centre.

Lee Hyuk, secretary-general of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, noted that the majority of ASEAN students who speak fluent Korean and have a good understanding of both Korea and ASEAN countries are popular among many Korean companies as they greatly contribute to the companies’ partnerships with ASEAN businesses and expansion into ASEAN markets.

“Moreover, as many online companies and start-ups in the ‘untact sector’ are flourishing, especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19, there are growing job opportunities for tech-savvy young ASEAN talents,” Lee said in a press release.

“I hope this program will provide a meaningful opportunity for many ASEAN students in Korea to listen to useful tips and career advices,” he added.

Anyone who is interested can participate on the YouTube channel of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (http://www.youtube.com/akcsns). Preregistration is available through the center’s official website (http://www.aseankorea.org), according to the organization.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)