Career counseling centers in higher education: A study of cross-cultural applications from the United States to Korea

Interest in career development and career counseling is growing in Korea. Nevertheless, neither the research nor the 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.