The Job market worldwide is tough in these times of pandemic.  The COVID-19 virus has not only created healthcare havoc but has also made employment opportunities difficult. In South Korea too, the job market has taken a hit because of the coronavirus restrictions and mandates, especially the young job seekers are facing grim chances of employment. According to data from the Statistics Korea Institute, the employment rate for South Koreans aged 15 to 34 hit 50.5% in January 2021, down 52.8% a year earlier, while the employment rate for those aged 35 to 64 was 71.2% in January, down 73.6% from the previous year.

Many Koreans have to shut their businesses and look for jobs. Fortunately, there are Korean startups that are helping job seekers gain suitable work opportunities and also upgrade skills.  The startups are matching the employers with the right candidates and helping job seekers network better.  So whether you are looking for a freelance project in Korea or a full-time employment opportunity, do check these startups.

Wanted Lab

Wanted Lab is a referral recruiting platform that works on the philosophy of referrals and rewards. The platform allows anyone to refer a candidate in their field of expertise and receive compensation if the candidate gets hired. Wanted brings the still-offline headhunting industry online, giving users a referral bonus for connecting their friends with well-matched jobs. Wanted was founded in 2015 and has been doing well in Japan with its brand ReferMe launched April 2018.

The startup claims its monthly revenue has grown 256% since 2015. Wanted Lab says that it has a corporate client base of over 4,000 companies based in Korea and Japan including Facebook, Uber, eBay,Microsoft, LINE, WeWork and Softbank. The platform has over half a million users. The company has raised over USD$10million in funding and has now expanded to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong & Singapore.

 Rocket Punch

With over 40,000 companies, over 45,000 jobs and over 150,000 user profiles, Rocket Punch can easily be termed as the biggest Korean startup recruiting platform. The platform, that cab be termed the best job searching site, enables professionals from diverse fields to easily find business-related information and ultimately grow their career.

Startup career opportunities are presented in a very organized way on the platform.  Job seekers can search startups based on industry, roles, skills, and even desired salary. Similarly, employers can also tailor their job postings based on the same search criteria.

 JobPlanet

JobPlanet is more like ‘Glassdoor’ of the US. JobPlanet provides job seekers with crowdsourced information about the welfare, culture, strengths, and weaknesses of potential employers, along with information about available job opportunities. The platform lets users anonymously review information on the company’s pros and cons, company ratings, salary data, and interview information.  The platform covers over 50% of registered companies in South Korea. JobPlanet had raised about $10 million from venture capitalists within a year of its establishment in 2014.

Find jobs for English-speaking professionals, foreigners

Rezi

This AI-powered resume service helps job seekers create smart resumes that can optimize their chances of getting the job through the Application Tracking Systems. Rezi was started in 2015 by a group of graduates led by CEO Jacob Jacquet in the USA.

In 2016, Rezi participated in the K-Startup Grand Challenge program and established business in South Korea. Rezi has partnered with JobKorea, a leading employment company in South Korea, to support the increasing number of English speaking job seekers. In fact, Rezi had announced that it will be offering its Resume Service for free during the testing times of COVID-19 outbreak across the world.

Korea Professional (KP)

The platform offers updates on job openings in multiple companies across Korea. KP’s job board is constantly updated with the latest job openings and information regarding global companies in Korea. In addition, the startup is  creating a foreign community to on a professional level in Korea, where job seekers, entreprenuers, studets, freelancers can network.  They are also pllaning on launching more services targetted to foreigners in Korea that will help them with various legal process, mentoring, etc.

HireDiversity

This platform helps English-speaking professionals and non-Koreans. Created by Sungkyungkwan University Graduate students, HireDiversity translates job postings from Korean to English.   HireDiversity offers all teaching, non-teaching jobs available in Korea, and ranks it based on Korean fluency for job seekers. Many Korean companies are now scouting global talent and skill for expanding their market and HireDiversity is also helping them get connected with foreign job seekers. HireDiversity is popular among international students seeking work in Korea.

Find Freelance projects in South Korea 

Wishket

Wishket is a very resourceful platform for both companies and freelancers. Wishket matches the needs of corporate IT projects with external consultants and technicians. Wishket can be a very useful tool for those looking for IT jobs in South Korea.

IT companies can send their requirements to Wishket platform and register for free. The company’s project goes through an anonymous bidding process and the client company gets multiple quotations. Freelancers and consultants can create their work portfolio on Wishket and bid for the projects advertised on the platform as per their needs. Wishket was founded in 2012 with focus on development of IT businesses and IT professionals. Wishket has over 80,000 IT professionals and companies from Korea and overseas registered with their platform and over 26,000 projects in 2020.

Kmong

Kmong is an online talent market that enables individuals to both sell and buy services. Various categories on Kmong include design, marketing, document, business, computer, music and video, life services, and handmade. The users can post their services with a price quote in the appropriate category. The buyers can pick up prospective sellers based on the category, quality of service and price.

So if you are looking for freelance opportunities in any sector in South Korea, then Kmong is worth a visit. The platform was founded in June 2012 at a much smaller scale and has grown to become one of the best sites for finding freelance projects in South Korea with monthly transactions over $2 million.

Soomgo

Soomgo is a service marketplace platform where customers and local professionals for over 1000 services come together. The services on Soomgo range from private music lessons, home cleaning to wedding planning and web development among many more. The service providers can register their profile, which can be seen by the buyers who require their service. If you are a service provider like a yoga teacher, a fitness instructor, a housekeeping company, a musician, then sell your service here and get clients.

Soomgo’s founding team consists of entrepreneurs and it is backed by many leading institutions in South Korea and the USA including Primer, Bon Angels, and Y Combinator (W17).