As the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drives a semiconductor industry rally, The New York Times (NYT) has published a feature article spotlighting Chungbuk Semiconductor High School in Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province.

The newspaper introduced the school as the oldest of the four specialized Meister high schools in Korea focused on the semiconductor industry, having been designated as a Meister school for semiconductor equipment in 2010.

Located about two hours from Seoul, the school is equipped with dormitories for all 300 students and six simulation facilities for semiconductor equipment training.

With the construction boom for AI data centers fueling record-breaking prosperity for Korea's semiconductor industry, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, interest in the school has also surged.


The newspaper reported that admission inquiries have more than tripled over the past year, and requests for visits from outsiders looking to learn from the school's operating model—including a crew from a Chinese state-run broadcaster—have been constant.

Principal Seo Woon-seok told the NYT, "I think our school has become the hottest school in Korea right now."

In particular, the NYT mentioned the large performance bonuses recently received by employees at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, noting that landing a job at these two companies is generally considered as difficult as "winning the lottery."

The report explained that each year, 20 top-performing first-year students at the school are selected for an internship program that includes scholarships from the two companies.

Other students go through a highly competitive national recruitment process involving exams and interviews. One teacher noted that students prepare for these exams from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day for a full month.

When graduates return to the school after finding employment and talk about receiving performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won, or treat their juniors to meals, it serves as a moment that confirms to current students that they made the right choice.

Principal Seo said, "It is not easy to hear a former student who has been working for a year talk about a bonus that is larger than my entire annual salary."

Meanwhile, the NYT also shed light on the uncertain job outlook behind the semiconductor industry's boom.

While the government has pledged to foster the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster into the world's largest high-tech semiconductor hub through comprehensive support, and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix announced last year that they would create up to 60,000 and 20,000 new jobs annually, respectively, the newspaper noted that some experts are skeptical about the feasibility of these job creation targets.

The concern is that semiconductor manufacturing is capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive, and as production processes become increasingly automated, the total number of jobs could actually decrease—a reality already being felt by subcontractors.

A manager at XT, a maintenance subcontractor for Samsung Electronics, told the NYT, "In fact, it has become harder to hire new employees this year," adding that the trickle-down effect of the semiconductor boom barely reaches subcontractors.

The manager expressed anxiety, saying, "If equipment with advanced self-cleaning functions is introduced, our jobs might disappear in the future."

(Photo: Captured from Chungbuk Semiconductor High School website, Yonhap News)