The Ministry of Education and Jeollabuk-do Province on June 27 will host a job fair for international students at Jeonju University in the provincial capital of Jeonju. Shown are attendees on July 20 last year customizing their resumes at a job fair for such students interested in getting a region-specific visa at the Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center, aka BPEX, in Busan's Dong-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Lee Dasom

Jeollabuk-do Province on June 27 will host a job fair for international students at Jeonju University in the provincial capital of Jeonju.

The event is the first project this year of the Ministry of Education to help such students find a job in a provincial region. Starting in Jeollabuk-do, the fair through October will tour the nation and be held at Kyungil University in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province; Mokpo National University in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do Province; Kyungsung University in Busan; and Chungbuk National University in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province.

An estimated 600 foreign students at 12 universities in Jeollabuk-do are expected to attend, as well as 14 companies that can issue a region-specific residency visa (F-2-R) and 12 others that can give a professional occupation visa (E-7).

Unlike conventional job fairs that focus on providing information and introducing companies, the ministry will connect jobs offered and job search information ahead of time and conduct recruiting procedures such as on-site interviews on the day of the fair.

The aim is to help students more effectively land jobs and remove the gap between demand from students seeking jobs and that from small and medium-size companies needing workers.

Visitors can also receive visa, labor and financial consulting from Jeonju Immigration Office to better prepare for finding a job in the country. They can also get one-on-one sessions with foreign students on the Global Korea Scholarship.

Park Sung Min, deputy minister of the ministry's Office of Planning and Coordination, said, "We will encourage foreign talent to settle in the country by linking them to on-site training, internships and employment with regional companies."

dlektha0319@korea.kr