Jorge's Korea Internship Part 2
Hello everyone, my name is Jorge and it's a pleasure to write to you again.
As a continuation from my previous blog, I'm in South Korea working on my internship in Marketing and Advertising.
I'm placed with a company that welcomes any kinds of business partners, who may be keen to utilize our Keyword Research Tool or Natural Language APIs to develop new applications.
During my first two weeks of basic training, I got to learn new things that I never thought I would be doing.
I guess it's completely different when you hear or learn theory at school than when you actually perform what you have learned, which still it's a process.
During my first week, I started learning about inbound marketing and how important it is these days for those who own businesses to change the way they market in the future.
It was really interesting acquiring this knowledge, since I'll be able to put them into action during my internship, and of course it will lead me to a better point in my career.
I got my certification for Inbound Marketing, and I couldn't be happier after passing the test and continuing my training.
After that, my supervisor started teaching me about HTML, how cool is that? I have been learning basic skills such as, how to design a web and how the internet actually works.
These are things I didn't learn in school, so I'm glad in the real world I'm getting this kind of experience.
Next, I started learning and studying to get my next certificate in Google Analytics, another important tool in e-Commerce Marketing.
It took me approximately 5 days to watch all the videos and lessons to get ready for my test, which I also passed with no problem.
I definitely believe coming to Korea and to this company was the best option.
Life In Korea, Outside Of My Internship
It's time for some adventures outside of my daily work experiences. So let me tell you about my living experiences.
I live with my host Sangsu in a town called Gwangju-si, which is an area close to where my internship is in Bundang.
I definitely wanted to experience the life in Seoul, but because of my schedule and commuting time I had to find a place close to the office building.
But I couldn't be happier than the decision I made since I got to meet Sangsu and his uncle Mr. Oh. They are incredible people and I can say I have learned so much from them, like language, culture, and food.
Something we all three enjoy is the food! Every night they would take me out for dinner and introduce me to new dishes and restaurants.
They have a very good sense of humor and they treat me as just one more member of their family.
Sometimes Mr. Oh takes too much care of me and Sangsu starts joking, "Hey stop acting like his father".
I really enjoy spending time with them. I commute every morning with them since their workplace is very close to mine, they give me a lift both ways to work and to come back home, which I think is so helpful and very nice of them.
Since my weekdays are kind of busy and the schedule doesn't help much, I do get to explore on my own during the weekends.
I take the bus and the metro, which is very easy and reliable. I get to experience more of the Korean culture with friends and try to visit as many places as I can.
One of my favorite places to go in Seoul is Gangnam. It's such a big city and there are so many people walking around at any time.
I love joining the crowds, and just walking and admiring everything around the city. Korean people are very stylish, and it feels fresh to watch the multitude.
An Introduction Into The Korean Food Scene
Something else I like about Gangnam is the food. There are so many restaurants with so many varieties of food. It gets to a point that I don't know which place to decide because they all look so good. Korean food is very tasty.
Really, the food options in Seoul are endless and the Korean food culture is immensely varied.
There is nothing like one of the many varieties of Bibimbap, rice mixed with fresh veggies, some meat and spicy sauce, accompanied by kimchi, pickles and some tofu.
One of my favorites is the Korean BBQ. Bulgogi and samgyeopsal are my favorites on the list. Samgyeopsal is a grilled pork belly, an extremely popular Korean BBQ dish.
Because the cooking and eating are done at the table, it's really social and a great food party atmosphere. It's also pretty simple to make, and because everyone pretty much helps themselves, it's easy to serve too.
It's very difficult to resist the taste of samgyeopsal. Meanwhile, the Bulgogi is a traditional Korean marinated beef dish, which is often served for special occasions and parties although it can be part of daily meals.
Something else I really love are the pastries and ice flakes (Bingsu). I could eat pastries and bingsu every day without any complaints.
Korea is very popular with coffee shops, and when I visit any of them I have to eat both pastries and bingsu.
I went to a pet cafe for the first time, and here in Korea, they are very popular and easy to find. I was very excited, to go there.
My host Sangsu has a dog, so we took him to the dog cafe. It was such a fun a great experience, since dogs are well trained and they were so adorable and playful.
I remember I ordered a mango smoothie, and for some reason, I thought it was the best smoothie I had in a long time. I'm very weak when it comes to sweets, cold drinks, ice cream, and Korea brings me all that in one touch.
Nightlife In Seoul
Next thing I want to talk about is the nightlife. The best places to enjoy the night on a weekend are Gangnam, Hongdae, and Itaewon.
These places are visited a lot and there are many foreigners who stay there.
One of my friends lives next to Hongdae, so he invited me to stay one night over his place so we could enjoy the night over there.
It was such a fun experience to share with other cultures. I met some new cool and fun friends hanging out in Hongdae, and after that, we spent some time eating street food and talking.
What I'm Currently Working On At My Korea Internship
Now let's talk more about my Korea internship experience.
As you know the company I'm doing my internship with provides text analysis APIs that can understand and associate words in the same way as humans do use by search engines, online e-Commerce sites, and many other developers creating software that analyzes and categorize text.
In the beginning, I was being trained with the basics about the internet and how it works. I was able to learn basic HTML and other programming codes that would help me later understand more about what the team does.
My trainer and supervisor are currently teaching me so many useful tools, that I will be able to apply on my future job.
These past days, I have been working on the company's blog, cleaning and fixing previous ones, and then post them under my name.
As an intern, I don't get access to everything and also not all of the accounts, but my supervisor has trusted in me and has given me access to other accounts to work on them.
I've been also working with the company's social media, interacting with visitors and doing the necessary objectives to keep it going.
Now I'm learning how to do keyword research and how to expand, clean and organize to later select the best keywords for each purpose.
I'm so excited with what I have learned and can't wait to keep learning before I finish my internship.
It's been a lot in a very short time, and I have been very busy but I'm so thankful because all of these will lead me to a better position personally, and professionally. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me.
Take Part In Your Own Korea Internship Today!
It seems that Jorge is having an incredible time in Korea with his internship experience, as well as immersing himself in the culture.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of Jorge's Korea Internship blog. He probably has some great stories to tell us.
You too have the opportunity to pursue an internship in Korea, just like Jorge did.
Below you can click on the "Learn More" button or on "Apply Now" to submit your Korea internship application!
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