{"id":120,"date":"2026-06-29T19:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a-blog.enko.kr\/?p=120"},"modified":"2026-06-29T19:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:38:03","slug":"work-in-korea-what-ive-been-noticing-so-far-as-a-foreigner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stay.enko.kr\/blog\/work-in-korea-what-ive-been-noticing-so-far-as-a-foreigner\/","title":{"rendered":"Work in Korea: what I\u2019ve been noticing so far as a foreigner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My first impressions of work culture in Korea, exploring workplace rhythm, organization, and daily office life through my internship experience in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Hi everyone \u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s Eva again, the French international trade student doing an internship at Enkostay in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you enjoyed my first blog post!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this second one, I\u2019m going to share my first impressions of the work culture in Korea, based on what I\u2019ve observed and experienced since I started at the company. Between the pace of the workday, the way people organize themselves, and office habits, I\u2019ve begun to discover an environment quite different from what I was used to in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Office life in Seoul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The work culture in Korea has always felt quite foreign to me. All I had to go on were K-dramas to get an idea of what an office might look like and what a typical workday was like. And that\u2019s exactly what made me a little nervous at first: stepping into the unknown, discovering a new country, new people, a new language\u2026 everything seemed different to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quickly began to understand and notice the differences between French and Korean work cultures. Even though I didn\u2019t have much professional experience beforehand, it was mainly the communication style and the little daily habits that struck me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an intern at Enkostay, I\u2019ve noticed that even though the work environment is fairly structured and organized, it\u2019s also very pleasant and relaxed in some ways. There\u2019s a kind of supervised freedom: eating snacks while working, listening to music, keeping your phone within reach, or even messaging each other frequently even when colleagues are in the same room. This really struck me at first because in France, Korea is seen as very strict when it comes to work, so I didn\u2019t expect to be so \u201cfree.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first things I noticed was the pace of the workday. People are very focused on what they\u2019re doing, and tasks move forward steadily. During my first few days, I took notes and tried to understand how things worked without disrupting the established rhythm too much. You can clearly sense that time is used quite precisely during working hours, and that every moment is devoted to a specific task, whether it\u2019s work or even breaks. Time is strictly respected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lunch with coworkers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In South Korea, work is often described as highly structured and hierarchical. Respect for age and professional status plays an important role in daily interactions. But I still noticed the importance of teamwork and the friendly relationships people share with one another. This kind of relationship creates true harmony within the team. It\u2019s the kind of aspect that, as a foreigner, I didn\u2019t expect to experience during my internship before I went there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quiet work moments<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since I\u2019m still in my first few days at Enkostay, I\u2019m mainly in an observation and adjustment phase. I\u2019m getting used to the routines, trying to understand how information flows, and gradually finding my place in the daily workflow. I feel like I\u2019m learning just as much by observing as by doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I\u2019m starting to see a real contrast with what I was used to in France, but also some similarities in the way people adapt, work together, and create their own sense of comfort within a structured environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think I\u2019m going to miss this kind of routine when I go back to France because, even though it\u2019s only the beginning, you can already feel how much everyone enjoys working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Myself after work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for your interest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eva Glanger !!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My first impressions of work culture in Korea, exploring workplace rhythm, organization, and daily office life through my internship experience in Seoul. Hi everyone \u2728 It\u2019s Eva again, the French international trade student doing an internship at Enkostay in Seoul. I hope you enjoyed my first blog post! In this second one, I\u2019m going to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t