How to Read Korean Job Listings: Common Title Components and Qualification Terms

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Close-up of a newspaper job section with a red marker and corded phone on a table.

A Korean job listing is easier to read once you know the fields that official portals use to describe a vacancy: occupation, employment type, required experience, contract type, work schedule, preferred qualifications and benefits. The Study in Korea job page and the Work24 search filters show these fields in English, so they work as a ready-made glossary. This article walks through them, plus the job titles and working-hour conventions the government portal describes.

The listing fields behind the search filters

Study in Korea’s “Job Opportunities” page, which embeds job information from Work24, shows the fields you can filter by. Reading a listing is mostly a matter of finding these items in the text:

  • Location and occupation. The occupation menu includes IT, software development and data; planning and management; administration and HR; finance and accounting; marketing, PR and research; sales and customer service; design; production and manufacturing; logistics and trade; construction and engineering; medical and pharmaceutical; education, languages and research; media and arts; and service.
  • Employment type. Full-time, contract, intern, dispatched, freelance and part-time.
  • E-7 Visa Support. A filter for listings where the employer supports that visa category.
  • Work experience. Work24’s filter offers “Entry-Level” and “Experienced Candidate”, with an option to enter a range of months.
  • Education. Options run from middle school graduate through high school, college (2 to 3 years), university (4 years), master’s and doctorate.
  • Desired salary. The filter can be set as annual salary, monthly salary, daily wage or hourly wage, in units of 10,000 won.

When a listing leaves one of these fields blank, treat it as a question to ask the employer, not as a good or bad sign.

Contract, schedule and company type

Work24’s detailed search separates several things that people often mix up. The employment contract options include an open-ended contract, an open-ended contract with part-time or flexible hours, a fixed-term contract, a fixed-term contract with part-time or flexible hours, and replacement-staff hiring. A separate “employment classification” distinguishes permanent from temporary positions, and the employment period filter runs from one to three months up to more than 12 months.

The work schedule options are a 5-day week, a 6-day week and alternate Saturdays off, and working hours can be filtered by time bands, including full-time work from 9:00 to 18:00. Company type options include large enterprise, venture company, public agency, foreign company and the “youth-friendly small and strong company” category. If you are comparing two listings, put these fields side by side before you compare salary.

Qualifications and benefits

The “preferred qualifications” fields in the Work24 filters include document writing, spreadsheet, presentation and accounting software skills, as well as categories for disability, older workers and veterans. In a listing, required items and preferred items are different: a missing preferred skill is not necessarily a reason to skip a role, while a required licence or language level is. The same filters list benefits such as residence hall, commuter bus, lunch provided, housing subsidy and education support. For foreign applicants, a residence hall or housing subsidy can change the real cost of living in a way that a salary figure does not show.

Study in Korea also notes that companies generally expect a certain level of Korean and that TOPIK level 4 or above is typically required, and that English tests and job-specific certificates can help. If a listing names a language level, take it literally and prepare evidence such as a score certificate.

Titles, hours and norms mentioned by the portal

Study in Korea’s employment page describes a typical corporate hierarchy: CEO, General Manager (Bujang), Deputy General Manager (Chajang), Manager (Gajang), Assistant Manager (Daeri) and Employee or Staff (Sawon). It adds that each company or department may differ, so check the organisation chart. If a listing says it is hiring at Daeri level, that tells you roughly where the role sits in that structure.

The same page says working hours are typically 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a lunch break of about one hour from noon, and that some companies have different schedules. It describes three common contract types: full-time (permanent), contract-based (fixed term) and part-time (alba), and says to confirm details with the company. Compare what the listing says with what the page describes, and ask about any difference.

A checklist for each listing

  1. Copy the employer name, location and closing date.
  2. Mark the employment type and contract type.
  3. Note the experience line and the education line.
  4. Separate required items from preferred items.
  5. Check the schedule, working hours and benefits.
  6. Look for visa support if you need it.
  7. Write down any field that is missing and ask about it.

Common mistakes and what to verify

  • Confusing contract type with employment type. A full-time role can still be fixed term.
  • Reading only the title. The duties section shows what you would actually do.
  • Treating preferred skills as required. Compare both lists with your own record.
  • Ignoring the schedule. A 6-day week and a 5-day week are different jobs.
  • Assuming visa support. Confirm it with the employer in writing.

Rules change: confirm with the official bodies

Portal filters and labels change, and each employer writes listings in its own way. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Confirm employment terms with the employer and visa questions with HiKorea or the local immigration office, and check Work24 for the current filter options.

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