College life can be very expensive. With books, food, and occasional gatherings to pay for, students are often left with empty wallets. So, many seek part-time jobs. The usual options are working at a coffee shop or a convenience store. However, some students have gone through unique part-timer experiences that are worth sharing.
 
 
Communicating in three languages at a duty-free shop

Park Jung-moon (Department of Electronic Engineering, 3rd year) shared his experience of working as an interpreter at a duty-free shop. Park worked from June to December in 2018. “I spent the first three months translating and giving directions. Then I started greeting guests from the membership desk for the next three,” said Park.
 
At the start, Park did not expect his job to be unique or difficult. “I thought a duty-free shop would have a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, like a gourmet store selling luxury goods,” said Park. He soon changed his mind, realizing that “due to the majority of customers being proxy buyers, infamous for hoarding goods and reselling them through online markets, the shop was very busy and hard to organize.”

When asked about the pros and cons of the job, Park replied that his Chinese and English skills were enhanced at the cost of minor physical pain. “I have had very few opportunities to meet foreigners in Korea, but as I worked at the duty-free shop, I was able to meet various types of people. On the downside, controlling the crowd and standing for a long time hurt my legs and back a bit,” said Park.
 
Park also said his personality changed after the experience. “I used to be shy, but after encountering so many people during the part-time job, I became more outgoing. Also, I had no knowledge about make-up materials, but after selling cosmetics, I know a lot about them now.” Reflecting on his experience, Park recommended the job to Hanyangians who are confident in speaking other languages and not afraid of meeting new people.


Memories of chicken skewers

Hong Gil-dong (anonymous interviewee, College of Engineering, 3rd year) also introduced an uncommon part-time job he had during March of 2018, which was to cook chicken skewers on a food truck. “I wanted to try out something new before enlisting for the army,” said Hong. Touring around Seoul and Gyeong-gi province on a truck, he served customers chicken skewers he cooked on the spot.
 
The work, for him, was very easy to learn. He also liked that the shift usually ended around 4 pm, earlier than the contracted 5 pm, because they quickly sold out of chicken skewers. Yet the most joyous part of the work was “getting to have chicken skewers limitlessly.” His boss was kind and always let Hong have the spare chicken skewers. He also exchanged food with other food trucks which sold sushi, soda, and other snacks. “One drawback of the job was that there was no fixated work spot for me to punch in for work,” said Hong.
 
Cooking chicken skewers was the most satisfying part-time job Hong has ever had. “The job is pretty free for the majority of the time. The shift is 7 hours but I barely worked for three.” He added –with confidence- that he learned how to cook chicken skewers better than any man on the street. “On top of that, now I know the economic workings of chicken skewers such as the initial cost and net profit inside out.”

“I recommend this part-time job to all of my fellow Hanyang students,” Hong said, adding that the job was fruitful, fun and educational, especially for men who are waiting to enlist in the army and have a lot of free time on their hands.
 
 
 
Lee Yoon-seo        cipcd0909@hanyang.ac.kr