Question 1

What visa do I need to do an internship in Korea?

Accepted Answer

If you study at a Korean university, the D-2 student visa allows a paid internship once immigration grants you a part-time work permit. Weekly hour limits apply during the semester and are generally lifted during vacations. After graduation, the D-10 job-seeker visa lets you intern at one company for up to one year; report the internship to immigration within 15 days of starting. Working holiday (H-1) holders can take many internship-style roles too.

Question 2

Are Korean internships paid?

Accepted Answer

Yes for the listings on this page. Established Korean companies pay interns competitively, typically ₩2.0M to ₩3.5M per month for engineering, product, design, and data roles at large tech companies and conglomerate affiliates. Many also cover housing or provide a stipend. Unpaid 'experience' internships exist in Korea but we don't surface them here.

Question 3

Do internships convert to full-time offers?

Accepted Answer

Often. Coupang, Krafton, Naver, Kakao, and most foreign-invested companies in Korea use internships as their primary new-grad pipeline, return offer rates at the top programs run 50%+ for high-performing interns. The 'experiential intern' (체험형 인턴) track is short and explicitly non-converting; most listings here are the longer, evaluation-track 채용연계형 internships that lead to FT offers.

Question 4

When do Korean companies typically post internship openings?

Accepted Answer

Two main waves. Summer internships (June to August) post Mar-Apr. Winter internships (December to February) post Sep-Oct. Some companies also run year-round rolling internships, especially in engineering and design. New listings show up here within 24 hours of being posted.

Question 5

Can I do an internship if I'm not yet a student?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you have graduated. The D-10 job-seeker visa covers internships after graduation. STEM bachelor's or master's graduates of qualifying overseas universities can also use the D-10-3 advanced technology intern track, for internships at listed Korean companies or government-funded research institutes in high-tech fields. D-10-3 has age caps: under 30 for bachelor's holders, under 35 for master's holders. Check the current rules with immigration before you accept an offer.

Question 6

How fresh are these listings?

Accepted Answer

Pulled from each employer's career page every day. Listings that disappear from the source are marked expired within 24 hours.

Question 7

How does Seoulstart decide if a role is 'English-friendly'?

Accepted Answer

Each posting is classified by its language signals: JD language, explicit Korean-fluency requirements, foreign-team mentions, sponsorship language, and the company's track record of hiring foreign workers. Roles that look Korean-only fall below our threshold and don't surface here. The classification is Seoulstart's read of the public JD; always verify language requirements directly with the recruiter.

Internships in Korea for foreigners

AI Agent Engineer, Intern

Robotics Project Management

Back-end Engineer Internship (3개월 / 정규직 전환형)

Emma Sleep Internship Program (APAC)

Common questions