🧅 Surviving Korean Internship 101

I recently took on an internship in Korean company. The conditions were pretty good (on paper), and while it wasn’t exactly my area of interest right now, I’ve done similar work before, so I felt confident. The process was lightning fast—I got the offer the next day. I even negotiated a higher wage. Spent a month there, and here’s how it went: 1. Thrown Into the “Running Mechanism” No onboarding, no welcome—just a seat and a computer. The team leader checked in occasionally, but that was it. I had to slowly build connections on my own, later I learned why...the start felt quite rough. 2. Revolving Door Every week, 3+ new hires joined, only to quit after 2-3 days. No surprise—onboarding didn’t exist, and the vibe was distant. People were shuffled into random teams, regardless of their background, and expected to “adjust for the company’s sake.” 3. Random Role Shuffle A week in, I was also moved to a different team, likely because I’m a foreigner. The tasks had nothing to do with my original role, but I adjusted. The final feedback? “You’re not performing well in this (unrelated) role.” 😅 4. Expectations & Overtime Got assigned a task I estimated it would take "n" days at a good pace (reslistically). They wanted it done in 3. Cue 10 PM departures and sleepless nights working from home. I was even hinted at that leaving at 6 PM meant I wasn’t “working hard enough.” Work-life balance? Nonexistent. 5. The Silver Lining At least the pay was as discussed and on time. It was a chaotic ride, but I learned a lot and got some good stories out of it. Would I do it again? Hopefully not… but reality can be cruel, and we take what we can get here in Korea On the bright side, I’ve got another interview coming up. I hope this one will last longer and truly add value. 🤞 Kinda made me interested in other peoples experience with Intership or full time workign here. Did anyone Experience somethign similar? Please share your story and tell me I'm not the only one 😂🙏