"Not my family, friends — not even me — nobody thought I would end up working in Japan," says Yoon Hyejung, a South Korean graduate who made headlines in the domestic media for receiving an offer from a top Japanese company without having what South Koreans call "specs."
Yoon did not fit the typical profile of a South Korean high flyer. She did not have a long list of language certificates, internships or a degree from a top university in Seoul — the "specifications" many domestic firms demand from new hires. Instead, she had a year's experience of traveling around the world and two years of working holidays in Australia and Japan.
Korean media labeled Yoon a "job nomad," judging her newsworthy for snagging a plum position abroad while defying the stereotype of what makes a graduate employable in her home country. "Yoon, who received a full-time job offer from Kirin, is a 'non-Seoul university graduate' who experienced difficulties in the domestic market," the Chosun Ilbo marveled.