Gwangju Shinsegae Completes 5-Week On-Site Internship Program for University Students

Second Time Following July Last Year

“While I wanted to work at a department store, I was also worried that the future might be bleak due to competition with e-commerce companies. However, during my field training at Gwangju Shinsegae, I experienced the increasing number of various contents centered on culture and experiences, which confirmed the infinite potential of department stores. This made me determined to work at Gwangju Shinsegae.”

This is the impression of Lee Woohee, a student in the Department of Clothing at Chonnam National University, who had a new perspective on the future of department stores through field training at Gwangju Shinsegae. He said that mock interviews conducted exactly like real ones and experiences in actual sales sites would be a great help to job seekers.

Gwangju Shinsegae Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Donghoon), a local corporation pursuing coexistence with the region, conducted a field training program from December 26 to January 23 last year to help local youth find employment.

Another clothing major student who participated in the field training, Park Hyunji, also expected that the future department store would be reborn as an experiential space providing content that cannot be experienced offline, beyond a simple shopping space. In that regard, she hoped that the expansion currently being prepared by Gwangju Shinsegae would definitely be realized and that a complex cultural space essential to the residents of the Gwangju-Jeonnam region would be established.

The program that left the strongest impression on the students who participated in the field training was the practical experience in the service department. In particular, while experiencing the VIP lounge, which they had never experienced before, they admired the differentiated service provided by Gwangju Shinsegae and added that they experienced a ‘new world’ not only in products but also in services.

The participating students unanimously said that through field training at Gwangju Shinsegae, they realized that a department store is not just a place for shopping but also a place that provides jobs for job seekers and plays a major role in the local economy.

Gwangju Shinsegae started a field training program for Chonnam National University students last July to help local youth find employment. Due to positive responses from participating students, a second group was selected in December, and the field training ended after the fifth week’s mock interview.

Lee Donghoon, CEO of Gwangju Shinsegae, said, “Gwangju Shinsegae provided practical help to field training students by conducting mock interviews exactly like real ones and offering opportunities to meet and serve real customers. We hope that the field training for Chonnam National University students will be more than just adding a credential but a step closer to the dreams of young people.”

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dongho yjm3070@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.