[Lost 2 Years] Field Training and Language Study Abroad Also Missing... Clenching Molars While Wearing Masks

Only Remote Classes Due to COVID-19
Don't Even Know Classmates' Faces

Even Beauty and Nursing Departments Can't Do Practicals
Overseas Experience Like Exchange Programs Out of the Question

'COVID Cohort' Faces Double Trouble
Companies Reduce New Hiring

Universities Can't Form Student Councils, Positions Vacant
Student Autonomy Disappears, Activities Impacted
Sense of Belonging to University Also Collapses

A job fair is bustling with job seekers. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong, Jeongyun Lee] "At university, I have no memories or remnants of friends, clubs, or MT trips. The only things left in my memory are professors and unknown classmates on my computer and tablet."

This is a complaint from a 20th batch university student attending a four-year university in the Seoul metropolitan area. Those who passed the fierce entrance exam hoping for campus romance, leisure, and new learning have spent two years away from campus. School lecture halls, libraries, and club rooms are names too distant for them. No one can compensate for the time lost during the two years of COVID-19. It not only took away their memories but also deprived them of opportunities necessary for employment, such as practical training and overseas experience. Student self-governance, which was already weakening, has been devastated after COVID-19.

◆ Nursing and Beauty Departments Unable to Conduct Practical Training... Junior College Students Haven't Even Seen Campus = Mina Choi (35), a first-year nursing student at a four-year university located in Gwangju, used to work at a semiconductor company for about 10 years but decided to become a nurse after being impressed during her cancer treatment. Having entered university later than others and wanting to work harder than anyone, the reality is not easy. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, only online classes have been held this year, making it difficult to ask questions even when curious, and she only attended school twice for exams, so she does not even know the faces of classmates who will prepare to become nurses together in the future.

Youth studying to become nurses say their future looks bleak due to the impact of COVID-19. Not only are classes held only face-to-face, but practical training necessary to become a nurse is also difficult to conduct.

The bigger problem is the uncertainty of practical training education starting next year. The school where Choi is enrolled does not have a university hospital or large hospital, so students must go elsewhere for practical training, but due to concerns about COVID-19 infection, hospitals are reluctant to accept nursing trainees. It has not yet been decided whether practical training will proceed. Choi said, "I heard from seniors that some had to go from Gwangju to Mokpo because there was nowhere to do practical training," adding, "I think the most important thing to become a nurse is studying on-site, but the future looks bleak."

◆ Lost Opportunities for Overseas Experience... Dark Clouds Over Employment Front = The closure of international travel due to COVID-19 has also been a major blow to job seekers. It has become virtually impossible to gain foreign language skills and other qualifications through studying abroad to be competitive in the job market. Seung-eun Lee (25), studying economics at a university in the metropolitan area, gave up her dream of studying in the United States when she entered university. The virus spread worldwide, blocking paths to study abroad as an exchange student or for language training in the U.S. As overseas study became difficult, young people worry about being disadvantaged. Lee said, "Now that I am a senior and have to start preparing for employment in earnest, I feel anxious because I seem less competitive than those who studied abroad before COVID-19." Mo An (26), studying economics at Dongguk University, also planned to go to Eastern Europe as an exchange student early last year to gain overseas experience and learn English, but it was indefinitely postponed due to COVID-19. An said, "I wanted to gain overseas experience after military service, but I couldn't because of COVID-19," adding, "Still, I worry that I will be disadvantaged when I eventually get a job."

Companies are reducing the scale of new employee recruitment and shifting toward preference for occasional and experienced hires. The employment crisis is becoming more severe. For the 'COVID batch,' it is a double blow. There is also data showing that large domestic companies' large-scale new employee recruitment has decreased to one-third over the past three years. This is based on a survey by the job portal Incruit of 317 listed domestic companies, including 74 large companies, 91 mid-sized companies, and 152 small companies, on this year's new employee recruitment results. Among them, 239 companies (75.4%) hired new employees, while 78 companies did not hire any for a year. By company size, 91.9% of large companies, 87.9% of mid-sized companies, and 59.9% of small companies hired new employees.

Since the mandatory implementation of the quarantine pass began on the 13th of last month, a notice for quarantine pass verification has been posted at the entrance of the Central Library of Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. From this day forward, if quarantine passes are not verified at restaurants, cafes, and other establishments, fines will be imposed on both users and operators. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

◆ Collapsed Student Self-Governance... Universities Without Owners = More than half of major universities in Seoul, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Sogang University, failed to form a student council in 2022. There are concerns that student self-governance may collapse as student representative bodies remain vacant. Ahead of the next semester, 12 out of 20 universities in Seoul have not formed student councils and are operating under alternative systems such as temporary emergency committees. Four universities, including Seoul National University and Yonsei University, failed to form student councils due to 'low voter turnout,' and eight universities, including Sogang University, Ewha Womans University, and Chung-Ang University, failed due to 'no candidate registration.' Seoul National University has not formed a student council for two consecutive years. At Dongguk University, where the student council election was canceled due to no candidate registration, there were no applicants even for the emergency committee chair, so recruitment was canceled. At universities without student councils, student self-governance bodies are currently operated in forms such as college student council presidents' meetings and emergency committees. The reason for the failure to form student councils at these universities is the cancellation of elections this year due to no candidate registration or low voter turnout. Although the decline in student self-governance activities such as student councils has been a long-standing issue, COVID-19 is said to have accelerated it.

Student self-governance activities such as clubs, school newspapers, and broadcasting stations have also been hit. With university campuses closed due to COVID-19 and online classes continuing, the sense of belonging to the university is also declining. Moreover, the decline in interest in student activities even before COVID-19 has also played a role. A university student A said, "University clubs maintained their traditions and continuity through the power of relationships, but with COVID-19, we couldn't meet, and that has collapsed," adding, "I even feel that the function of the university is collapsing."