Inside South Korea’s chipmaking cram schools

This summer, there is no holiday for Kim Tae-woo, a South Korean university senior majoring in electrical engineering. Instead, he is spending his vacation at a chipmaking cram school in Seoul, hoping to land a job at SK Hynix or Samsung Electronics.

Kim is one of 30 applicants accepted into the cram school’s state-sponsored programme to nurture specialists in semiconductor quality control after a competitive screening process.

The three-and-a-half-month course covers everything from semiconductor components and chip design to data analysis, with classes running from 10am to 6pm on weekdays. He enrolled after failing to secure internships at Samsung and several foreign chipmakers.

“My biggest hope is to join SK Hynix, but competition has become intense because everyone in my class wants to work at SK Hynix or Samsung,” he said. “I just want to add one more line to my résumé.”

Semiconductor cram schools are flourishing in Seoul as applications to South Korea’s two biggest chipmakers surge, fuelled by record earnings from the AI boom and eye-catching worker bonuses.

In May, Samsung reached a landmark profit-sharing agreement with its 78,000 semiconductor employees, with average payouts expected to approach $400,000 in the memory chip division.

Rival SK Hynix agreed last year to distribute 10 per cent of operating profits to workers over the next decade, implying average bonuses of about $500,000 this year based on projected earnings.

“The bonuses are enormous,” said Kim. “Competition is tougher, but they’re hiring more people too.”

Much of the coursework overlaps with his university curriculum, but Kim hopes to learn some practical skills from former chip engineers.

The cram school also offers lessons on CV writing and interview preparation tailored towards SK Hynix and Samsung’s recruitment process. It even promises a refund on tuition, plus an equivalent payout, if graduates secure jobs at major companies.

The AI boom is reshaping educational priorities in a country where academic credentials have traditionally defined success.

For decades, South Korea’s brightest students gravitated towards medicine, and private tutors focused on helping students gain admission to elite universities.

Now, some semiconductor departments sponsored by Samsung and SK Hynix — which guarantee employment after graduation — are attracting growing interest, and cram schools are catering to job seekers pursuing lucrative chipmaking careers.

In the 2026 admissions cycle, SK Hynix-linked semiconductor programmes at several leading universities recorded higher application rates than medical schools, whose applicant numbers fell by nearly a third to a five-year low.

Kwon Seok-joon, an engineering professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said generous chipmaker bonuses had altered how students viewed the trade.

“For 20 years, medicine was the only path that guaranteed both wealth and prestige in Korea,” he said. “The Hynix bonus broke that monopoly. For the first time, chip engineers are in the same league as doctors when families discuss a safer future.”

The popularity of semiconductor jobs extends beyond engineering roles. Kim Dong-wook, a manager at Saramin, South Korea’s largest recruitment platform, said many undergraduate degree holders, especially in liberal arts, would hide their academic qualifications to apply for factory jobs at the big chipmakers.

Competition is fierce for jobs at South Korea’s conglomerates, which are seen as more stable and better paid but make up just over 10 per cent of total employment.

Youth unemployment averaged 7.1 per cent in the three months to the end of June, the highest second-quarter figure in four years, adding to pressure on young jobseekers competing for limited positions at large companies amid rising living costs.

“Some even say they regret going to university,” said Kim of Saramin. “There are simply too many college graduates.”

Kim noted that perceptions of trade work were changing. “Office workers often face pressure to [retire] in their early fifties, while skilled production workers typically enjoy much greater job security,” he said.

The government said on Friday it would create a new fund to help young people find jobs and support investment in growth industries such as AI.

The fund, which local media estimated could exceed Won100tn ($72bn), will be financed by tax windfalls from the chip boom.

“People once believed only white-collar jobs led to success,” said Kim. “That thinking is weakening, with parents also placing more value on practical skills.”

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However, educators cautioned that the boom in semiconductor programmes — like the industry itself — could prove cyclical.

Many of the strongest engineering students are still retaking the national university entrance exam to switch studies and pursue medicine. A record of nearly 2,500 students left South Korea’s three top universities in 2024, the latest year data is available, largely to apply to medical schools.

Im Seong-ho, head of Jongro Academy, one of the country’s largest university admissions cram schools, said the appeal of semiconductor programmes depended on the industry cycle.

“Just two years ago, people were saying Samsung was in decline,” he said. “We don’t know how long this boom will last.”