Good for fresh graduates, not for experienced professionals. - Anonymous employee KOTRA Employee Review

1.0
May 30, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Good reputable government organisation of South Korea. - A lot of networking opportunities. - Good for energetic fresh grduates.

Cons

- No-opportunity for career development unless you are employed by HQ, Seoul. - Pay is way below compared to similar roles in other industries. - Some seniors from HQ - lack of ability to understand local market, but expect outstanding outcomes from local staff.

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5.0
Jun 18, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Godd pay flexible hours and lots of incentives

Cons

Long work hours overall working in shifts

1.0
Apr 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Hard to think of any pro, I’d say you get paid Korean holidays but not all holidays are included (such as the Korean new year & Korean Thanksgiving).

Cons

* No W2 — you’re classified as a contractor, meaning you pay ~30% in self-employment taxes on top of everything else. No health insurance, no life insurance, no 401K. ZERO standard benefits. * Leadership is nonexistent in any meaningful sense. Managers are flown in from Korea with no English proficiency and no understanding of the local team. They freely use the corporate card for personal meals while being incredibly stingy with basic office necessities — no coffee, no water, no snacks. They also think they know everything when they don’t know any single thing and make the local team members do all the freaking work? *The workspace conditions are the worst I’ve experienced. There were recurring mice and cockroach infestations near desks and chairs, with no serious effort made to address it.

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