Watch: Indian Woman Opens Up About "Reality" Of Working In South Korea, Says "Don't Come"

An Indian woman working in South Korea has shared a candid account of the challenges she's faced in the country's workplace culture, which, according to her, is quite demanding and often draining. While explaining, she said that extended work hours is one of the biggest hurdles. Despite official timings, she says there's strong, unspoken pressure to stay late, even when tasks are done, and leaving on time can be seen as a lack of commitment. "If you are an Indian and you want to come to Korea, I would say, Don't Come," the woman named Swarnim Singh said in an Instagram video. "Because if you come to Korea, the competition has increased so much and the job positions have decreased."

"And if you come here, you will take more competition and you will leave after a year's contract. As is happening with a lot of foreigners these days because they do not get job satisfaction," she added.

She said people only see South Korea through Korean dramas and don't really know what it's like in "reality".

"So if you want to work in a Korean company, you need to know what are the rules and regulations here," she said.

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Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Swarnim Singh/ 임수아 (@lucknowi_nawab_in_korea)

Beyond the hours, she highlights the role of "hidden rules", which are the unsaid expectations around hierarchy and communication, even if it is for team outings, such as team dinners.

"If you refuse to come for the team dinner, if you are not available, then this attitude problem will come," she said. "There are hidden things that you won't know until you come to Korea. If you want to come to Korea and you want to know how to come to Korea, then for that you need to. You will have to prepare well and for that you will have to follow us and we will tell you how you came to Korea in the next video."

In the caption, she clarified that this doesn't happen in all offices, but it is a "general cultural thing".

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Social media reaction

The video resonated with many on social media and gained massive traction. It received over 52,000 views and nearly 2,500 likes.

"I kinda understood it, and changed my way. I still love but just going to travel and live as a girl who healed through K-pop and K-dramas. But definitely changed the career path," one user said in the comment section.

"This toxic culture is the reason that I'd never wanna stay there. Just wanna go for a holiday, but that's it. Enjoy being a tourist and leave," another user added.

"Graduated in AI. Working as an AI Developer. but still not using a single word of Korean. So those who don't know it's for them not all the companies need Korean language," a third user shared their experience.