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Part-time jobs are a close friend to most university students. To pay their tuition fees, maintain their livelihood, or for savings, a majority of students work part-time at a wide array of workplaces. All sorts of things happen at the workplace—whether it be a pleasant kind or not. Korea University (KU) students share their most interesting part-time job experiences.

   
 

I used to work part-time at a beef restaurant. There were good memories but I guess the bad ones are the ones that last longer. Once there were some customers who walked in 20 minutes before the closing time, arguing that they were going to finish eating within 20 minutes. Not surprisingly, even at 30 minutes past the closing time they had still not left, and were having tantrums. They only left after the restaurant owner came. There were also some absurd experiences. We once cleaned up a table after the customers left, but later found out that they had just gone out to smoke. We had to apologize. There was also an old man who bought take-out beef and tried to get a refund after two months.

Kim Ji Hyun (’14, Statistics)

   
 

Earlier this year, I posted my information on a tutee site, hoping to find a student. To my surprise, an education company contacted me instead. They asked me to proofread the resumes of their students. The most memorable resume was the one from a student at the KU Economics department. His resume was so good that I actually remember it until now. I am curious whether he had actually made it to KU. I received 5,000 Won per resume—I just had to read it over several times, and add a short comment to change the direction of the resume or add some new parts.

Park Hye Jung (’15, Media and Communication)

 

   
 

I used to work part-time at a big insurance company. It was a part-time job only by its cover—in fact we had to do everything what a normal employee would. I managed the phone calls, canvass for insurance, apply and cancel an insurance and so on. Demanding work and low wage were some issues, but the biggest problem was the workplace atmosphere. Although there were no mentions of early attendance or overtime work during the contract, the manager gave us pressure to do so. Not only the manager, but also the coworkers were giving peer pressure to stay over the normal finishing hour.

Park Sung Ho (’10, Sociology)

 

 

   
 

I am currently a foreign language intern at the Ministry of Justice. The internship was much more than just a part-time job. It was an opportunity to grow and improve as an individual, explore my dream vocation, and also experience social life. Since I am planning to prepare for law school next year, it helped me grow my expectations towards the legal profession. People often think of a strict, rigid, and conservative image when they hear about the legal profession. However, my experience changed my perception—those I worked with were friendly and generous with advice. I still cannot forget the head of my department joking on whether “Gong-cha is gong-jja (free).”
Yoon Ji Ho (’14, International Studies)
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