This article is by Yoon Seung-jin and read by an artificial voice.

As more internationals look to build careers in Korea, many find themselves facing practical hurdles - from limited guidance to a lack of firsthand experience. To bridge that gap, the Korea JoongAng Daily talks with professionals who have carved out their paths in diverse fields, offering readers real-world insights on how to start their careers in the country in this series "Hired in Korea."
Ying Wei Wang, a Taiwanese national now working in Korea, admits that during his time studying chemical and biological engineering at Korea University, he was overly confident in his academic record and Korean fluency. However, it didn't take long for reality to humble him - he was rejected by every company he applied to for an internship.
Rather than letting the setback discourage him, Wang took it as a chance to improve. He addressed the shortcomings that led to those rejections and eventually received multiple offers from Korean companies.
Today, he works on the quality control team at the pharmaceutical company Huons, where he tests raw materials used in medical products.

"Being fluent in Korean and having a high GPA didn't make me any better than other international students, let alone Korean students," Wang said. "After realizing this important fact, I tried to gain practical experience and create my own stories."
"Looking back, I see a huge difference. Now, I even have a competitive edge over Korean employees in some respects," he added. "I strongly believe other international students can also work to step ahead."
The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Wang to hear more about his journey, the challenges of being a foreign professional in Korea and his advice for international students hoping to work in Korea.
Q. Can you explain your role and responsibilities?
A. I'm in charge of pharmaceutical quality control, specifically in the raw material testing team. Our job is to check whether the materials used in drug production contain any harmful substances.
For example, we test for toxic components such as heavy metals or arsenic. If any of these are present, using the material for medicine could be risky. Once a material passes all the safety tests, we issue a quality certificate.
Was it challenging to take on your current role?
Yes, getting this job was very difficult. One of the biggest lessons I learned in college is that it takes a tremendous amount of effort for expats to find a job in Korea.
Honestly, I used to be overconfident in my Korean skills and academic achievements. But when I failed to land a single internship, I realized something important - if I were a recruiter, I wouldn't have hired myself over a Korean candidate either. That made me think hard about how to prove my worth and how to make myself stand out.
So even though I couldn't get an internship, I decided to do whatever I could. I became an undergraduate researcher in a professor's lab. Professors usually welcome passionate students regardless of nationality, so it was a great opportunity to start somewhere.
This experience, along with various other activities and preparations, later helped me get accepted by several Korean companies.

Doing undergraduate research sounds quite unique. How did it help you?
For STEM students who can't secure internships, becoming an undergraduate researcher is a very helpful and efficient alternative. Even as an undergrad, I was able to co-author a research paper related to my field.
Professors often choose a few hard-working students to participate in research papers. Even small publications can be very beneficial for science and engineering majors. Of course, you need to show consistent effort and dedication to earn such opportunities.
Another big advantage is building connections with professors and seonbaes (senior students), who can offer valuable advice and information. When I was in college, I noticed that many international students tend to isolate th...

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