Inspire Entertainment Resort recruiting event focuses on fun

Industry

Published: 21 Jun. 2023, 15:01 Updated: 21 Jun. 2023, 15:51

Inspire Entertainment Resort recruiting event focuses on fun

Chen Si, COO of Inspire Entertainment Resort, gives opening remarks at the resort's large-scale public recruiting event, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday. [INSPIRE ENTERTAINMENT RESORT]

Amid the drizzling rain on Tuesday, some 1,000 eager individuals gathered at a three-story building in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, to attend a recruiting event for what is to become Korea’s grandest integrated resort: Inspire Entertainment Resort.

“We are the biggest resort in Korea, but we also want to be the best and that comes down to people,” Chen Si, COO of Inspire, said during the event’s opening speech. “I’m very excited to be here today and meet all of you young people.”

Inspire Entertainment Resort, slated to open in Yeongjong Island, Incheon, is a 1.8-trillion-won ($1.4 billion) project led by the American integrated resort developer Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment. Mohegan operates seven integrated resorts in the United States and Canada. Inspire is its first outpost in Asia.

Ahead of the opening, Inspire is looking to hire around 3,000 employees. Approximately 200 workers have already been recruited through the resort’s partnerships with some 30 universities across Korea.

Participants at the Inspire Entertainment Resort's large-scale recruiting event in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [INSPIRE ENTERTAINMENT RESORT]

Tuesday's event had plenty of job consultation booths as well as actual interview opportunities, but the prospective employees were foremost encouraged to have fun.

Participants were allowed to freely walk in and out of company presentations, and there were also two gambling tables and a photo booth decorated with Mohegan logos and balloons.

“I’ve been to several recruitment fairs, but I think this one was the most amusing,” said Hannah Jeong, 25, who was leaving the gambling table after she lost all her chips.

The resort held a networking party in the evening with some 300 new hires. It was accompanied by magic shows and cocktails.

Participants in the Inspire Entertainment Resort experience what it would be like to work at the resort's casino during the resort's recruiting day in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday. [INSPIRE ENTERTAINMENT RESORT]

“Creating a good work environment is not just pay and benefits; it is having fun,” said Kelly Sullivan, global director of human resources and development at Mohegan’s U.S. headquarters. “Technical skills are important but not the most important. We are looking for people who have great energy and know how to have fun and be kind, to not only guests but their peers as well.”

Mohegan recently made the rankings in the American news magazine Newsweek’s 2023 Global Top 100 Most Loved Workplace.

“It’s a huge win,” Sullivan said. “Our initial focus is not on guest experience, but actually employee experience first. We know that if we create a work environment where people enjoy being at work, we are going to then have a great guest experience because they are just genuinely happy being there every day. We are working to tailor what we have done in the United States to be successful here in Korea, while still being respectful of Korean norms and practices.”

Sullivan said that she was pleasantly surprised by the level of intellectual enthusiasm among the Korean candidates at the recruitment event.

“Young Koreans in particular are so eager to learn and it is something that I was blown away by. Their focus on continuously growing their skill set and their experience is something that stands out to me.”

A rendered image of the completed Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon which is now under construction [INSPIRE ENTERTAINMENT RESORT]

The construction for Inspire Entertainment Resort is about 80 percent complete, according to the resort’s PR officials, and set to open sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.

Its facilities include three hotel towers with 1,275 rooms, a 15,000-seat arena set to be Korea’s first multi-purpose indoor performance hall, a year-round indoor water park and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) facilities.

The casino for foreigners only is expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2024.

Mohegan’s Inspire plans to build the largest resort in Northeast Asia in a total of four phases of business expansion, by 2046. The upcoming opening is its first phase.

The resort plans to hold more recruitment events in Incheon and other parts of Seoul throughout the summer.

The recruitment period is from July 5 to 20. For more information, visit inspireer.com

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]