Seoul Internships with Beyond Academy

Even though the other interns I met during the Beyond Program were lovely, the actual program itself was very poorly organised and very much overpriced for what it was. I have separated the issues I encountered both as part of the internship itself and Beyond academy issues below as there aren’t many reviews for Beyond Academy and I think it’s important for aspiring beyond interns to consider before spending that much money.

Beyond Academy:
The pay over time scheme isn’t actually what you’d think as you end up paying 75% if your programme fee a few weeks before you depart.Myself and a few of the other interns only had interviews with companies a a few weeks before we actually flew out.
During the application process you don’t get to pick from a range of companies a new company is only offered if you reject the one presented to you.
You don’t get much CV or interview help, you just get recommended a website (Novoresume) where they give you a template and you fill in your details
Most of the events that were held for the duration of my internship were very repetitive. The ‘welcome’ day for the new interns that arrived every week included 1 paid drink at Hongdae (already covered by the overpriced program fee you pay). So if you were there for 2-3 months chances are you won’t attend all of the events organised by beyond because they’re the same.
Some of the events were actually awful. One of the planned trips was the Hyundai mall, which I know recently has become more of a touristy attraction but as someone who’s internship company was right by it, it didn’t feel like my £5000+ ($6300) was being used efficiently.
If you don’t attend an event you don’t get your budget allocated for that Beyond Academy trip back. For example most of the interns worked regular office hours 9am-6pm (some until 8pm) so could not attend the event, however they couldn’t have their allocated event budget back (which is covered by the initial £5000 you pay them)
For £5000- I would expect the taxi back to the airport covered as well however this wasn’t.
The SIM card they recommended didn’t arrive until the third week and there was not any help on how I could get mine until the 3rd week which meant getting anywhere in Seoul was very difficult.
The two beyond academy leaders we had were lovely and helped us navigate the city and gave us recommendations as well. However when I had issues with my internship, I wasn’t made aware that I could change my internship if I had experienced issues in my first couple weeks until my 4th week- by then I couldn’t switch as many companies understandably wouldn’t want an intern for 4 weeks.

Internship Beyond Academy found for me:
As for my internship, from the second week on I had already finished all of my projects and told my beyond program leaders about this however was not told that finding a different company was an option. So I spent the next 6 weeks sitting by a desk with no work, despite raising this issue with the company I worked at. Someone at Beyond offered to email the company to ask for more work, however I think the issue is Beyond Academy as a company not researching the companies their interns work at properly.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Beyond Academy for aspiring interns. It was my first time abroad by myself, as most students who are contemplating on doing one of these internships, However I was disappointed at the lack of the support given in the first week to settle in and the overall poor planning of the whole internship. I would recommend either a different company or even better researching your own accommodation and making a list of places you would like to see beforehand because myself and the majority of the other interns did not see where the thousands of pounds/ dollars we were spending were going to.

I believe I could’ve seen more of Korea with the money I gave Beyond Academy if I had organised my finances myself or picked a more reputable and affordable company.

Beyond Academy is the best program to apply for when looking to work abroad and grow in your career path. I had 24/7 support from my Community Leader as well as from the rest of the staff via email if I ever had a question. I learned so much at my internship and I got to experience a lot of different things (food, culture, nightlife, daytime, etc). I even improved on my Korean language skills :). It was my first time stepping out of my comfort zone and Beyond Academy made it happen so thank you Beyond Academy! I truly appreciate this opportunity! :)

My time with Beyond Academy has been super amazing. All through the process they have been informative and helpful, answered all my questions and made sure I was never in the dark about anything, giving all the info I needed about the pragmatics of my travel. My tour guide Alize in particular has been absolutely wonderful and so so willing to always help, no matter the challenging situations we seem to find ourselves in, and the flexibility and freedom given to decide on the sort of activities we want to do has been great. I also feel that Alize's understanding of the city really meant that we have been able to get a feel for the city from the perspective of a true local. The support offered by having a guide also meant that someone was there to support you to ease the hard transition and hold your hand during the hard moments, and help navigate things I would've been very stressed to do alone, like checking in, finding my workplace, and navigating the language barrier. It also means when you get here, it's impossible to feel lonely. The activities have been varied and exciting too, though I felt in the winter months in particular it was harder to find things to do due to the temperature - I definitely recommend the warmer months. The complimentary gifts, meals, historical tours and even trips (!!) from Beyond Academy, as well as their willingness to offer support particularly with Covid difficulties (i.e. covering some of my hotel quarantine cost) have been a lovely addition. There were a few hitches, particularly due to Covid, where I believe I could have been warned a little earlier about things (e.g. travelling elsewhere for my 90 day tourism visa when Japan is in fact closed), or the fact that my internship wasn't directly related to the field I applied to, due to many of their partners being unable to take someone on during the pandemic. But overall, the programme has given me such a unique means of exploring Seoul, and offered immediate support at every turn when these things haven't quite gone right. It is their willingness to always help and improve your experience, that will stick with me. I think I couldn't have experienced Seoul in a way that had a more perfect blend of support and structure alongside giving you the freedom and knowledge to navigate the city yourself.

The Beyond team really went out of their way to help make everything happen. After failing my first interview, Krystal did an hour-long video call with me and helped me work on my confidence and interview skills. Her advice helped so much and I was successful on my next one! I was all set for my Seoul program but due to covid situation unfortunately I was not able to go as planned. Beyond had already lined up the internship but as I couldn’t delay my start date, I ended up doing most of it online. I’m actually very glad with how things turned out. My internship was 2.5 months and my colleagues really made me feel part of the team. I also managed to sit in on many client and agency zoom meetings which was cool!. My company is a mid to high-end fashion brand based in Seoul that’s now expanding their marketing reach to the US. So everything actually worked out super well. I hope to join Beyond again in summer 2022!