InterviewIn the global race to attract experts, Korea urged to listen to int'l students

Nihat Khalizade, head of the Global Korea Scholarship alumni association, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's office in Seoul, Feb. 9. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Korea has never been more popular with the world’s students, its classrooms filling with thousands drawn by the global allure of K-pop and high-tech prowess. But for those who stay, the transition from "guest" to "resident" remains governed by top-down policies crafted without the input of those they affect.

“As Korea has gained global recognition as a leading study destination in recent years, it is time to incorporate the perspectives of people with foreign backgrounds when designing policies related to foreign residents’ settlement,” Nihat Khalizade, an Azerbaijani-born naturalized Korean and head of the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) alumni association, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

“I hope to draw on my experience to help shape policies that better support international students and talents seeking to build their lives in Korea,” he added.

The association is a group of international students who studied here through the Korean government-sponsored GKS program, started in 1967. As of February, it has 82 chapters across 76 countries, with 1,093 registered members in its Korea chapter.

Khalizade first arrived in Korea in 2011 as a GKS student at the young age of 17.

“At the time, Korea was far less globally visible than today’s K-pop-driven powerhouse, and information about studying in the country was limited,” Khalizade said.

“I landed at night and couldn’t do anything," he recalled. "There was so little information available that I hadn’t even exchanged money into Korean won and had only brought U.S. dollars. Everything around the dormitory — even convenience stores — was closed. On my first day, I kept asking myself whether I had made the right choice to study abroad.”

When he first began learning Korean, the process was anything but easy.

“Because there weren’t many native English speakers, students from third countries often had to learn Korean through English first,” he said. “That meant translating Korean into English and then into my native language, which made learning much harder.”

A shortage of reliable information also shaped his academic path. When it came time to apply to universities, he said there was scant guidance on which institutions stood out in particular fields. He ultimately decided to major in computer engineering at Hanyang University in Seoul, drawn in part by its slogan branding the school as “the engine of Korea.”

“Most GKS scholars are highly qualified and capable of entering top universities,” Khalizade said. “But it was difficult to know which universities had strengths in specific areas. That lack of information was one of the biggest challenges.”

Those early struggles went on to shape his future path in Korea.

Nihat Khalizade delivers a lecture on entrepreneurship in Seoul in this April 2024 photo. Courtesy of Nihat Khalizade

From 2019 to 2024, he served under the Seoul Metropolitan Government as head of the Gangnam Global Village Center.

He redesigned the center's international resident programs to focus on practical needs — from startup mentoring and resume workshops to simplifying tax consultations.

One of the most pressing challenges he observed was employment. Many foreign applicants struggled from the very first step — preparing a resume. With numerous templates circulating online, some applicants unknowingly submitted outdated formats that included unnecessary personal details such as height and weight.

“In many cases, companies would see those resumes and assume the applicant was not fully prepared for the Korean job market, and some applications were not seriously reviewed,” Khalizade said.

In response, he began organizing regular workshops at the center, designing programs that provided practical guidance on resume writing, job searching and self-promotion tailored to foreign residents.

“Having studied in Korea on a government scholarship, I always felt a responsibility to give back,” he said. “Because I went through many trials and errors from my arrival to graduation and employment, I wanted to use that experience to share as much practical information as possible while serving as center director.”

Participants in a Korean cultural program for foreign residents pose in front of the statue of King Sejong the Great at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul in this 2022 photo. Courtesy of Nihat Khalizade

Khalizade now serves as an adviser on the Ministry of Justice’s Social Integration Advisory Committee.

While acknowledging that many seasoned experts participate in policymaking, including scholars of immigration, he said there remains a gap as people with immigrant backgrounds are often absent from decision-making.

“No matter how well-intentioned a policy may be, those who have not experienced the situation firsthand cannot fully understand it,” he said.

“Although I am now a naturalized Korean citizen, even people like me — those with immigrant backgrounds — are rarely included in these discussions. As an adviser, I hope to help convey the needs from the ground and ensure they are reflected in policy.”

After deciding to settle in Korea, he chose to pursue naturalization, saying he believed becoming a Korean citizen would be better than remaining as a foreign national.

Khalizade said he hopes to contribute to creating a better environment for foreign residents seeking to settle in Korea, as well as for the next generation — including multicultural children like his own who are growing up here.

“I have seen many cases where people became confused after relying on information shared by acquaintances,” he said. “It is important to refer to official sources. At the same time, that information must be made sufficiently accessible so that individuals can make informed choices within the system.”