The traditional hiring process is slowly fading away in South Korea as employers look to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help them find the best workers for their companies. That may be good for businesses, but the AI algorithms are causing a lot of frustration among job seekers.

Photo: CGTN

Kim Seok-wu is a 22-year-old student from one of South Korea's top universities practicing an AI interview for a job. He is visibly nervous, and fidgeting as his verbal and facial expressions are deconstructed and analyzed by a lifeless machine.

"When you prepare for job interviews or exams, people know how to get a high score or make themselves seem positive and friendly. You can't really do that for AI interviews, so all the preparation for it feels meaningless," said Kim Seok-wu, a student from South Korean University.

AI is already widely used by many companies' human resources departments to help in selecting candidates. But more companies are now applying AI to the hiring process. Data from the Korea Economic Research Institute showed that nearly a quarter of the top 131 corporations currently use or plan to use AI in hiring.

South Koreans are trying to beat the machine as AI grows in popularity for the hiring process. Large cram schools are doing booming business teaching job applicants to maintain composure and positive facial expressions to score points. Some job seekers are worried about the additional expense and workload to prepare for AI interviews.

Meanwhile, for the earnest Kim Seok-wu, he had decided that the AI interview is too much of a stumbling block for now, and he's better off pursuing graduate school before rethinking about beating the machines.