Back in June, President Moon Jae-in spoke at the National Assembly, stressing that the government will ambitiously push ‘J-nomics’. Under this plan, Moon stated that job creation was a requirement—and not a result—of growth. In this regard, he strongly vowed to increase the number of quality jobs for young people during his term in office.
   With job creation being a top priority for the Moon administration, KOTRA’s 12^th Job Fair for Foreign-invested Companies 2017 came at an especially important time. Held from October 12 to 13 in Seoul, an estimated 14,000 jobseekers and 136 foreign companies participated in the two-day event. Included in the rosters were 31 companies from the Fortune Global 500, including 3M and Siemens.
   Since 2006, the Job Fair for Foreign- invested Companies has provided countless job opportunities for Korean youth and helped foreign-invested companies find premier talent in the country. This year’s opening ceremony was attended by labor and business leaders from the Presidential Committee on Jobs, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and major foreign chambers of commerce.
   “I was here last year to learn more about the companies I was interested in. I had a great chance to meet HR managers in person and hear about the companies, what they actually do and who they are looking for,” said Miee Kim from Agilent Technologies

Korea. She joined the American analytical instrument firm this year, after weighing all her options last year. “Working in a Fortune 500 company is a satisfying experience, as it offers an open and rewarding environment with a range of employee benefits from language training to arts and entertainment discounts,” she explained, encouraging jobseekers to make the most out of the career fair.
   The job fair offered a broad spectrum of programs including meetings with HR managers, recruitment seminars, special lectures for job seekers and resume writing and interview coaching sessions. One HR manager advised potential employees to convince employers with confidence, without overly worrying about their limited experience or language skills.
   “We’re looking for energetic, passionate people who do what they love,” says Kiwi Chi, talent acquisitions coordinator for WeWork. Founded in 2010, the American company provides shared workspaces and services for entrepreneurs and innovators. Although still a relatively new company in Korea, WeWork hopes to

expand its presence in the country by hiring talented Korean youth through the job fair.
   “Foreign-invested companies already take up 6 percent of Korea’s national employment. They will continue to create decent jobs and contribute to our economy by hiring highly educated workforce,” said KOTRA’s President and CEO Jaehong Kim. He added that the job fair will provide invaluable opportunities for young and competent Koreans to work in global firms.