Korean Job Discussion Forums

[edwardcatflap]

People save a lot of money here because they choose to live in a certain way. The poster above is an example. I'm sure he/she drinks soju or Cass and avoids night clubs when they go out out otherwise they simply would not be able to party all the time and save money. it couldn't be done, Similarly people live in tiny flats so they save money on the bills and spend their time hiking or on the internet because there isn't much else to do. If you also consider 'western food' to include things like apples, onions, milk, potatoes, beef etc..prices are the same or more expensive than they are in my own country. Of course if you eat noodles and Bibimbap all the time it'll be cheaper than your own country where you probably ate well. Also people saying they don't have a car here so that's why Korea is good for saving money is not logical. they could have a car here or they could not have a car in their own country. I'm pretty sure petrol (gas) is more expensive here than in the US for example.

The only real way to compare the costs of living would be to pay a student in a Western country two thousand dollars a month, on top of their accommodation, and tell them to live as they normally would, then compare how much they had at the end of the month with a teacher in Korea. As that is how most NETs seem to live here. For most it's the next stage from living like a student with no money to living like a student with money followed by going back to their own country and ,hopefully, trying to live like a grown up with money.

[fustiancorduroy]

[PatrickGHBusan]

[edwardcatflap]

[young_clinton]

I would be surprised if you could find a better starting deal unless you graduated with a Bachelors in Business from Harvard.

[comm]

Perhaps the question is, what are you going to spend $2,000 on per month?
$300 food
$150 utilities
$100 phone
$100 clothes
$250 entertainment

Maintain something around that and you're saving around $1,000 per month, plus $2,000 completion bonus, plus ~$1,000 pension refund. Throw in a nice vacation in an inexpensive Asian country and you'll still save over $12k

[PatrickGHBusan]

[some waygug-in]

If you are only planning on one year, you probably will have to pay taxes back home. (at least that's what they'll tell you)

I'm sure there are some creative yet legal ways around this but you'll

need to do some homework.


It doesn't seem worth it for only 1 year.

[kabrams]

I did not "save" at all, but at the end of my stay in Korea, I had over $5,000 left. With an actual plan, I think I could have gotten close to $8,000.

[dairyairy]

Everyone's situation is different but if you can cook and you can control your drinking there are many ways to save money. Budgeting and maturity are the keys. Some people can make big bank and blow it all and others can save even on a much smaller budget. If you're worried about increasing your earning power then ask for some extra classes at your school. But if you can't control your spending then you will end up with nothing at the end of every month.

[Weigookin74]

[Weigookin74]

[Squire]

Many probably come here having had a pampered upbringing and have no idea how most normal people live, then spend all of their money on unnecessary luxuries and complain that we are paid a pittance that is impossible to live on. Maybe the OP falls into that category

[highstreet]

People can save here because they are forced to live within their means.

If Korea took away the free, crappy apt most teachers get, then it would be an instant turn off for most people thinking of coming over. Because of this schools and academy's are able to keep wages low.

[Stan Rogers]

Not every job provides free housing.

Not all pension refunds are the same. Ex. National verses Private plan.

Not all jobs provide free airfare.

Not all jobs pay severence.

This thread is filled with a lot generalizations and assumptions that are simply not true for everyone.