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At this event, internships pitch themselves to students

Published: 28 Apr. 2025, 14:44 Updated: 29 Apr. 2025, 11:14

LEE TAE-HEE
[email protected]

Bebridge, a startup participating in the Global Intern for Startups program, talks to international students during the company briefing session on April 25. [BANKS FOUNDATION FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS]

On Friday afternoon at the Front1 building of Mapo District, western Seoul, around 50 international students listened to a series of startup pitches.

Bebridge, which dubs YouTube videos into Korean and other languages using AI, made a pitch for new content marketing interns that could help find overseas channels interested in its service.

“I want to thank the students for not just coming to Korea, but going further to decide on working in Korea,” said Park Jung-hyun, CEO and founder of Bebridge. “I think it's a bold move and actually also a good opportunity for Korean startups like us to get help and expand globally.”

Some startups were even represented by former international students.

“A few years ago, I was attending a Korean language institute at Yonsei University, and that is when I got to know about EngAll and the team,” said Anubhuti, a member of EngAll's HR team. The edtech company, which offers online English classes, was seeking a content marketer, business development manager and online English tutor. “The mission and vision of the company really stuck with me, and I started working as an intern, and after a few months working as an intern I became a full-time employee, and now I'm here trying to look for the next intern.”

Startup Recycle Ledger, one of three startups presenting for the second year in a row, was recruiting full-stack developers and front-end interns. The other two returners, Munice and Toonsquare, sought to staff up their marketing departments.

New startups also participated, mainly looking to hire international students as interns to help their business go global.

The pitch session was the first segment of a company briefing organized through the Global Intern for Startups program, a collaboration between the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs (dcamp) and the Korea JoongAng Daily’s K-campus, a career and information platform for international students. This is the second time dcamp is running the international student internship program; its first iteration took place last September.

A total of 14 startups are hiring international students as interns through the program, offering 24 positions in sales, marketing, design and tech. Applications are open between April 14 and May 6. Selected interns are expected to start in June, either working for up to two months or for three months or longer with the possibility of a full-time offer.

At Friday's session, interested students attended presentations about participating startups' business and work culture followed by a Q. and A. session and opportunities to build connections with potential employers before submitting their job applications.

“Attending today's event helped a lot because companies also showed their approach to new employees,” said Muslima, a student. “The way they presented today and the way they talk about their business says a lot, and I think it was very helpful.”

Students talk to company officials during the company briefing session on April 25. [BANKS FOUNDATION FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS]

“We heard from startups that participated in the program last year, and their feedback about global interns was very positive,” said dcamp Manager Nam Ji-eun. “Working with global interns helped them communicate with local markets and get better insights and networks that they couldn't just get with domestic talent.”

“Many of them said their global projects moved faster and better thanks to having an international intern on the team.”

After hearing from startups, many students had companies they were eager to apply to.

“I'm most interested in the startup doing B2B [business-to-business] services with hotels, allmytour, because they said 50 percent of their revenue currently comes from China, so that one might be a startup I have the highest possibility of getting in,” said Zhang Mao, a student attending the event. “I'm also interested in the webtoon marketing [position] as I'm interested in marketing as a social sciences major.”

“I think it's a really great opportunity to meet startups and also really incredible to know what's happening in Korea. Even if I'm not able to get into one of the startups, I still think the event will be useful for me.”

Startups participating in the second season of the Global Intern for Startups program are: maetel, HISTRANGER, Bebridge, Munice, Livelively, Recycle Ledger, doviecorp, EngAll, allmytour, 7meerkat, SicPama, E9pay, Toonsquare and PhyxUp Health.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]