Career Counseling Centers in Higher Education - A Study of Cross-Cultural Applications from the United States to Korea

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda

Interest in career development and career counseling is growing in Korea, yet prior research does not adequately explain which cross-cultural applications from U.S. career counseling centers can be transferred to Korean universities. This qualitative study examines practice across seven U.S. university career counseling centers to identify concepts and methods for adaptation. Nine data categories emerge, including systems, staff, services, assessments, alumni networks, outreach, publicity, information technology, and facilities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Career counseling in higher education

Purpose and cross-cultural transfer gap

Method and data categories

Background on counseling centers in Korea

Asia Pacific Education Review Copyright 2003 by Education Research Institute 2003, Vol. 4, No. 1, 84-96. Career Counseling Centers in Higher Education: A Study of Cross-Cultural Applications from the United States to Korea Michael Goh Je-Kyung Lee University of Minnesota Seoul National University U. S.A Korea Interest in career development and career counseling is growing in Korea. Nevertheless, neither the research northe literature adequately address the question as to what applications can be cross-culturally transferred from career counseling centers in the United States to Korea. This study qualitatively examines the practice of career counseling in seven university career counseling centers in the United States in a search for concepts and methods that may be cross-culturally applied to Korean universities. Nine categories of data emerged in our qualitative analysis of information gathered: (a) types of systems; (b) staff; (c) services provided; (d) career assessments; (e) alumni networks; (f) workshops and outreach; (g) publicity; (h) information technology; and (i) facilities. Applications and ideas for the Korean context, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed. Key Words: career counseling centers, cross-cultural, Korean counseling, Asian counseling Psychology as an academic discipline and applied psychology fields such as counseling psychology in Korea has seen a rapid growth and increasing popularity in the last century. While considered to be a young discipline when compared with other scientific fields, the concept of counseling in Korea is not new. As early as 1957, the Seoul Education Committee provided counseling education for about 40 teachers (Kim et al., 2000) . Counseling centers in Korea have also been steadily developing. The Center for Counseling and Student Services in Seoul National University (SNU), for example, has had a long history and has Michael Goh, Assistant Professor, Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology Program, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota. Je-Kyung Lee, Ph.D. candidate in Counseling Psychology, Seoul National University. The authors thank the Institute of Asia Pacific Education Development (iAPED) for sponsoring the second author as a visiting researcher that made this study possible and Kyongboon Kwon for her translation assistance. Correspondence concerning this article can be addressed to Michael Goh, 139B Burton Hall, University of Minnesota, 178 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic mail may be sent [to gohxx001@umn.edu](to gohxx001@umn.edu). maintained a strong reputation as both a counseling and research center. A recent change in the official name of The Center for Counseling and Student Services at SNU to The Center for Campus Life and Culture suggests that the embodiment of how psychological services should be delivered continues to develop and evolve. This willingness to change also reflects a healthy desire to understand the demands of students and to substantially serve their needs. Recent studies further illustrate Korean researchers’commitment toward a better understanding of help seeking and, consequently the delivery of counseling services to Koreans (e.g., Jang, 1999; Jang, 2001; Kwon, 1996; Yoo, 1997; Yoo & Lee, 2000; Yoo & Yoo, 2000) . More specifically, the question of how career counseling is provided within university counseling centers in Korea is also gaining attention. Kim (1995) noted that career education was introduced as early as 1964 and termed “career guidance”but was considered generally unfamiliar to the general public until the late seventies. A 1998 study at SNU revealed that about 60% of students at the university listed “study and career problems” as being their greatest concern when seeking counseling (The Center for Counseling and Student Services, Career Counseling Centers in Higher Education 1998). Yet in a study by Lee (2001), only 4

FAQs

What problem does the study address?

The study examines what applications from U.S. career counseling centers can be cross-culturally transferred to Korea, because existing research does not sufficiently address this question.

How was the study conducted?

It uses a qualitative approach, examining the practice of career counseling in seven university career counseling centers in the United States.

What categories of information were identified from the analysis?

Nine categories emerged: types of systems, staff, services provided, career assessments, alumni networks, workshops and outreach, publicity, information technology, and facilities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda