Ever encountered a job post in Korean, and had trouble understanding what certain terms meant?

You can try Papago or Google Translate to look up what the word means, but it might not always ring a bell.

I remember looking at 기졸업자 and asking myself if that's different in any way to 졸업자, or graduate.

A lot of the words have roots in hanja, or Chinese characters used in Korean, so a bit of explanation might be helpful than just a quick dictionary search. Having some background knowledge about job searching can also be helpful, so here are a few terms explained based on my experience!

1) 기졸업자

기졸업자 is a term you will often see in the job post's minimum qualification section, saying something along the lines of 기졸업자 being able to apply.

You might understand the word in the middle — 졸업, which refers to graduation. Since 자 refers to person, 졸업자 means someone who graduated.

But what does 기졸업자 — with an additional 기 infront — mean?

Although the addition of an extra letter may make it seem like an entirely different word, it means the same — someone who graduated.

The 기 is added in front to mean 'already', so if we do want to be exact with the translation, it means someone who "already" graduated.

2) 졸업예정자

This is also another term you will see listed as a minimum qualification. Simply put, the word refers to someone who is expected to graduate.

Expected to graduate might be a bit vague, and specifically, it refers to someone in their last semester or those who have deferred graduation.

You will often see companies saying people who graduated and 졸업예정자 are qualified to apply for their annual/bi-annual hirings.

Recruitment processes for those hirings can take up to two to three months, with students in their last semester, or 졸업예정자, already having graduated or very close to graduation once the processes all finish.

Even if it's not the annual/bi-annual hirings, openings that are posted around a month before the graduation period also tend to mention 졸업예정자 as one of the minimum qualifications.

3) 전환형 인턴/채용형 인턴

The words 전환형 인턴 and 채용형 인턴 is something you will see in the job post's title, referring to a specific type of internship.

전환 means switch or change in Korean, and 인턴 is intern. It refers to an internship with the possibility of switching to a regular employee, or basically a full-time job offer.

채용형 인턴 also means the same thing, with 채용 referring to the Korean word for employment. 채용전제형 인턴 is also another way of saying it.

Although these are technically called internships, companies almost see it in the same level as new employee recruitments.

As there is a possibility for a regular employee offer, applicants will be required to have graduated or be expected to graduate to apply.

Candidates are typically required to complete an internship lasting anywhere from one to six months. After the internship, they undergo a performance evaluation or final interview to determine if they will receive a job offer.

4) 체험형 인턴

This word is used to refer to another type of internship. 체험 means experience, and 체험형 인턴 means an internship you do to get experience.

Most importantly, it refers to an internship without a full-time return opportunity.

Students in their sophomore year through the first semester of their senior year often pursue these internships because they need to return to school to complete their remaining semesters and graduate.

I've seen a lot of international students consider this as a bad choice because they assume by the name that it's non-paid (because many job posts in Korea don't mention salary) and also has no possibility of a full-time job afterward. However, I would like to add that there is very high chance that such internships are also paid.