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Korean Cooking Course and Restaurant Internship in South Korea

Duration

2 - 12 weeks

Language requirements

English

Availability

All year

Age

16+

Price starts with

690 EUR

Type of program

Skill Development Course & Internship

Korean cuisine is trending worldwide. You can participate in a Korean cooking course in Daegu. For a deeper dive into Korean culinary arts, you can add an 8-week restaurant internship.
Description

Korean Cuisine Cooking Course

The Korean culinary tradition uses fresh vegetables, fermented ingredients, meat, seafood, and bold spices in diverse ways of preparations. Iconic dishes like Kimchi, a fermented cabbage side dish, and Bibimbap, a rice bowl with various toppings, highlight the importance of seasonal ingredients. Korean meals are often accompanied by an array of Banchan (side dishes), emphasizing the communal nature of dining.

The cooking course includes 8 lessons that you can complete in 2–4 weeks. You can specify the time available to you, and a schedule with precise dates and lesson content will be prepared.

Each lesson lasts approximately 1.5 hours, followed by an hour for dining. Instruction is in English, in either group or private sessions. Group classes may also include Korean culinary students. Lessons are held in a professional cooking academy with qualified instructors. All ingredients are provided, and you can enjoy the dishes you prepare after each session.


Typical Korean dishes you can learn as part of the cooking course include:

  • Kimchi – Fermented vegetables, typically cabbage and radish, seasoned with chili powder, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce.
  • Bibimbap – Mixed rice topped with assorted vegetables, a fried egg, and gochujang (spicy red pepper paste).
  • Kimchi – Fermented vegetables, typically cabbage and radish, seasoned with chili powder, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce.
  • Bulgogi – Thinly sliced marinated beef grilled or stir-fried.
  • Japchae – Stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables and sometimes beef or seafood.
  • Tteokbokki – Chewy rice cakes in a spicy, sweet, and savory gochujang-based sauce.
  • Samgyeopsal – Grilled pork belly served with dipping sauces and lettuce wraps.
  • Kimchi Jjigae – Spicy kimchi stew with pork, tofu, and vegetables.
  • Sundubu Jjigae – Soft tofu stew made with seafood or pork and a spicy broth.
  • Pajeon – Savory scallion pancake often served with a soy dipping sauce.
  • Galbi – Marinated beef or pork ribs grilled to smoky perfection.
  • Gimbap – Rice rolls wrapped in seaweed, filled with vegetables and egg.
  • Jjajangmyeon – Noodles in a savory black bean sauce, a Korean-Chinese fusion favorite.
  • Dak Galbi – Spicy stir-fried chicken with vegetables, sweet potatoes, and rice cakes.
  • Samgyetang – A nourishing chicken soup with ginseng, jujube, and sticky rice stuffing.
  • Hoddeok – Sweet pancakes filled with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  • Banchan – Various small side dishes such as seasoned bean sprouts, spinach, or pickled radish.


Please note that not all these dishes are included in the 8 lessons, and your instructor will select which dishes to prepare during your course.


Internship at a Korean Restaurant

For an even deeper immersion into Korean cuisine, we recommend adding an 8-week restaurant internship after your cooking course.


Your 12-week stay in Korea may look like this:

  1. Cooking Course: You spend the first 4 weeks in Daegu participating in the cooking course described above (8 lessons).
  2. Korean Language Classes: Simultaneously you take Korean language classes to enable basic communication in a restaurant kitchen. Classes run 5 days a week for 90 minutes each day and can be booked as an extra.
  3. Accommodation: During your 4 weeks in Daegu, you can stay affordably in our shared apartments for program participants, either in a shared or twin room.
  4. Restaurant Internship: Weeks 5–12 are spent in a restaurant internship, either in Seoul, Busan or Daegu (your choice).


Available restaurant types include:

  • Korean buffet restaurants
  • Korean BBQ restaurants
  • Kalguksu (chopped noodles) restaurants
  • Bean soup restaurants
  • Restaurants specializing in boiled pork dishes
  • Restaurants specializing in cold noodle dishes
  • Restaurants specializing in Chueo-tang (boiled mudfish soup)

 

You’ll intern for approximately 30–40 hours per week. The internship is unpaid.

If interning in Daegu, you can continue staying in the shared apartment. If interning in Seoul or Busan, you can book guesthouse accommodation through this website.

Your internship includes 2 food-related excursions/activities, such as visits to farms in Yeongdeok or Uiseong (1–2 hours by bus), a soybean paste production workshop, a strawberry harvesting and dessert workshop on a strawberry farm, or a visit to the Ttang Ttang Fried Chicken Experience Center.

Program details

FAQs

Rates

Who can join

Anyone who can enter South Korea visa-free for 90 days is eligible.

Participants in this program often include culinary graduates or trainees looking to expand their expertise in international kitchens. Ambitious hobby chefs are also welcome. However, no prior experience is necessary, and the program can be tailored to your skill level.

Program start

There are fixed arrival dates.

2025: July 7th, October 6th, November 3rd
2026: to be announced

You should arrive on these dates at Incheon (ICN) airport between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m..
Arrival is on a Friday, with cooking classes starting the following Monday.

Getting there

You fly to Incheon Airport in Seoul and travel to Daegu.
If you are arriving from surrounding Asian countries, you can also fly directly to Daegu Airport (TAE), where we will pick you up and accompany you to the shared apartment accommodation.

If you book airport pickup as an extra:
You fly to Incheon Airport in Seoul. Your flight should have a scheduled arrival on a start date between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. We will pick you up from the airport and accompany you first by airport train to Seoul's main train station, from where you will take the KTX high-speed train to Dongdaegu Station (“Daegu East”). In Dongdaegu, you will be picked up again and accompanied to your shared apartment accommodation.
If you are arriving from surrounding Asian countries, you can also fly directly to Daegu Airport (TAE), where we will pick you up and accompany you to the shared apartment accommodation.

Visa

Citizens from the following countries can join this program without any visa for a stay of up to 30 or 90 days in South Korea:

A-B: Albania (30 days), Andorra (30 days), Antigua and Barbuda (90 days), Argentina (90 days), Australia (90 days), Austria (90 days), Bahamas (90 days), Bahrain (30 days), Barbados (90 days), Belgium (90 days), Bosnia and Herzegovina (30 days), Botswana(90 days), Brazil (90 days), Brunei (30 days), Bulgaria (90 days)
C-D: Canada (6 months), Chile (90 days), Colombia (90 days), Costa Rica (90 days), Croatia (90 days), Cyprus (30 days), Czech Republic (90 days), Denmark (90 days), Dominica (90 days), Dominican Republic (90 days)
E-G: Ecuador (90 days), El Salvador (90 days), Estonia (90 days), Eswatini (30 days), Fiji (30 days), Finland (90 days), France (90 days), Germany (90 days), Greece (90 days), Grenada (90 days), Guatemala (90 days), Guyana (30 days)
H-J: Haiti (90 days), Honduras (30 days), Hungary (90 days), Iceland (90 days), Ireland (90 days), Israel (90 days), Italy (90 days), Jamaica (90 days), Japan (90 days)
K-L: Kazakhstan (30 days), Kiribati (30 days), Kuwait (90 days), Latvia (90 days), Lesotho (60 days), Liechtenstein (90 days), Lithuania (90 days), Luxembourg (90 days)
M-O: Malaysia (90 days), Malta (90 days), Marshall Islands (30 days), Mauritius (30 days), Mexico (3 months), Micronesia (30 days), Monaco (30 days), Montenegro (30 days), Morocco (90 days), Nauru (30 days), Netherlands (90 days), New Zealand (90 days), Nicaragua (90 days), Norway (90 days), Oman (30 days)
P-R: Palau (30 days), Panama (90 days), Paraguay (30 days), Peru (90 days), Poland (90 days), Portugal (90 days), Qatar (90 days), Romania (90 days), Russia (60 days)
S: Saint Kitts and Nevis (90 days), Saint Lucia (90 days), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (90 days), Samoa (30 days), San Marino (30 days), Saudi Arabia (30 days), Serbia (90 days), Seychelles (30 days), Singapore (90 days), Slovakia (90 days), Slovenia (90 days), Solomon Islands (30 days), South Africa (30 days), Spain (90 days), Suriname (90 days), Sweden (90 days), Switzerland (90 days)
T-V: Thailand (90 days), Tonga (30 days), Trinidad and Tobago (90 days), Tunisia (30 days), Turkey (90 days), Tuvalu (30 days), United Arab Emirates (90 days), United Kingdom (30 days), United States (90 days), Uruguay (90 days), Venezuela (90 days)

Program participation is also possible with self-arranged visas for South Korea, such as the Working Holiday Visa.

We cannot make any visa arrangements for the program participation.

Accommodation Options

Shared Accommodation in Daegu

Accommodation in Daegu is provided in a historic building in a very central location of Daegu, at walking distance from the language school and the city's main shopping and entertainment areas.

The building has 2 apartments for 6-share and 2 apartments for twin share (one bunk bed). In the case of accommodation in twin or dorm rooms, we try to separate by gender; however, this is not always possible and cannot be guaranteed. It is exclusively used for World Unite! participants. Each apartment has its own en-suit shower with toilet and kitchenette with fridge. Every resident has access of a private locker for their valuables. Each apartment also has its own washing machine.

There is a shared communal area on the ground floor, which has a living room with a large table, a kitchen, a toilet and a luggage storage room. Free WiFi is available at the shared areas. There is also a drinking water filter machine with hot and cold water.

Extras

Read more

Book or Send an Inquiry

Selected program price
Choose Base Package
Choose Extension Time and Extras

Restaurant Internship, 8 weeks incl. 2 excursions, without accommodation

+ 340.00 €

Korean Language Lessons for 4 weeks

+ 290.00 €

4 weeks shared apartment accommodation in Daegu (shared dorm) without meals

+ 320.00 €

4 weeks shared apartment accommodation in Daegu (shared twin) without meals

+ 360.00 €

Airport pickup form Incheon (Seoul) or Daegu (8 AM - 6 PM)

+ 60.00 €
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What is included?

VM_WHAT_IS_INCLUDED?
  • 8 cooking lessons at a culinary school in Daegu
  • Ingredients and utensils for the cooking course
  • All teaching materials for the language lessons (if booked)
  • Certificate of participation in the cooking course and the restaurant internship
  • Access to our Korea Working Holiday Knowledge Base – a mobile-friendly online reference system with videos and texts providing practical information about your life in Korea
  • Remote preparation session
  • On-site support team in Daegu and Seoul
  • CO2 compensation of your long-haul flights: Costs for 10 seedlings of indigenous trees that we plant on the slopes of Kilimanjaro

Not included?

VM_WHAT_IS_NOT_INCLUDED?
  • Airport pickup (can be booked as an extra)
  • Shared apartment accommodation in Daegu (can be booked as an extra)
  • Hostel accommodation in Busan (can be booked as an extra)
  • Korean language classes (can be booked as an extra)
  • Restaurant internship arrangement with 2 activities/excursions (if not booked as an extra)
  • Travel costs within Korea (Daegu to Busan, if your internship is in Busan)
  • Local commuting costs (between accommodation and cooking school/restaurant)
  • Return transfer to the airport
  • Meals (except for the dishes you prepare during your cooking lessons)
  • Travel to and return from South Korea (booked by yourself, we can assist)
  • Official visa fees (if applicable)
  • Insurances (travel health insurance, liability insurance, travel cancellation insurance; booked by yourself, we can assist)
  • Personal expenses
  • Vaccinations

INSIGHT

5 REASONS why to join
this program
 

Learn authentic Korean cuisine from qualified instructors

 

Affordable shared apartment accommodation available

 

Open to professional chefs, hobby cooks, and anyone interested in culinary arts

 

Includes 2 food-related excursions as part of the internship

 

Option to add a restaurant internship

contact chris

Questions?

your consultant for this program is

Chris Engler

(he/his)

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