Korean Blockchain Industry Desperate For Talent, Won’t Pay

A job fair can be considered a success based on a few qualifying factors: First, there should be several companies, preferably multi-million dollar ones, prepared to hire someone at the fair. Second, those companies should be ready to spend the large sums of money they control when they find the right candidate. Third, there should be enough buzz about the fair that all the qualified people in a large radius know about it. Finally, it should be held in a place with a big enough profile to grab the attention of walkers-by. Apparently those factors aren’t in play for the blockchain industry.

Just this Sunday afternoon there was a job fair in the basement of a tiny building hidden in a shady part of the Gangnam district in Seoul. More specifically, it was in the section of Gangnam which is home to two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, UPbit and Bithumb. It also has several other exchanges and blockchain companies. Therefore it would make sense that the fair would have huge buzz and attract the best talent. Spoiler alert: it did not.

The Blockchain Job Fair 2018 was hosted by Boscoin, Hashed, Bezant, Bluewhale, Dunamu, and others. Together these companies command well over $500mil, so why are they looking for software developers, Dapp developers, fintech researchers, and computer programmers at such a small event? The people who could fill these roles would have to be highly educated and highly qualified, and would certainly have better things to do on a Sunday afternoon than to squat in a small unfinished basement waiting for their number to be called. Furthermore, some of the advertised positions reveal serious needs from the participating companies.

Why would a software developer or a computer programmer in the heart of the tech startup region of Seoul be unemployed? The answer may be hiring practices. One anonymous job seeker who claims he studied at an Ivy League college commented that “Korean [blockchain] companies are cheap. The top guys have no clue what’s going on in the market so they are going to be hurting in the long run.” Unemployment in South Korea is so bad that people fear it more than they fear a resumption of the violence in association with the ongoing war. Despite that, those with self-respect refuse to take positions or pay grossly beneath them.

He further commented, “The last place I applied to won’t spend more than 3 million won ($3k) per month on hires. They raised something like 8000 BTC! They wouldn’t hire me because they said I make too much money.”

To put his comment further into context, Hashed, one of the main sponsors of the event, commands roughly $250mil and Dunamu owns Kakao Stocks and UPbit. They have the resources to hire the best of the best that Korea has to offer. It is very unusual that they would keep their labor needs this clandestine.

Clearly this is an epidemic issue in the Korean blockchain industry. If these companies wish to survive then they should be eager to spend the money they have now to improve for the future. They must truly be out of touch if they have no qualms with offering pennies to highly qualified individuals in a stuffy basement on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.