Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lolimahro]

I was in Korea from 2002-2004 with my parents and came back in 2009 as a graduate with a family. If I had to do it again, and I had to choose between Korea and anywhere else, I'd probably choose Korea. While Chinese seemed easier to learn than Korean at first, I always had trouble with the tones, and people refused to speak to me in Chinese. Also, reading Chinese is a bear compared to learning hangeul, especially with all the English loan words in Korean.

While I seem to remember Chinese being more overtly "friendly" in general (I was invited to numerous feasts and vacations by students and co-workers while in China), I at least feel somewhat less "foreign" here than in China, like I can live a normal life and not be bombarded with attention, questions, and "will you be my friend?" all the time. I like feeling grafted into the local populace, however not-grafted-in I may truly be; I like to feel like a normal person, and on most days, I get that here.

This became just as true when I moved out to rural Incheon (from Seoul, Mokdong). I find the people to be much more friendly and down-to-earth here; I don't feel like the neighborhood is a fashion strip, and I have friendly conversations with my neighbors nearly every day.

Finally, the costs of raising a family overseas and the cost of paying debt back home necessitate a 2.2~2.3mil monthly net income for us. As we have 1.2 million remaining in our account after sending money home, we rely on school-provided housing to afford our living.

If I had to do it a different way, I guess I would have stayed in the U.S. and gotten a teaching credential or a Master's Degree while my husband finished his B.A. Then I could have come to Korea and made a lot more money and my husband would be employable. Or, we could have gone somewhere else overseas - perhaps I could have worked for DODDs or for an international school in Europe or the Middle East. But my background in the Korean language would have made Korea the most likely choice still.

[SinclairLondon]

Would have come directly to SE Asia, instead of doing Korea and Thailand during breaks. Less money, but its not one endless cycle of drunken monotony which sustains the masses in Korea.

[Yaya]

[World Traveler]

[Stain]

Arrived in 2007. If I could start over, I would have made the same mistake.

[Smithington]

[Mr. Pink]

[Yaya]

I've also read on this forum that starting a non-ESL biz in China isn't that hard and that many expats do just that, whereas expats in Korea are pretty much limited to bars, restaurants or hakwons.

That said, I wouldn't sacrifice five years of my life to live in Beijing. I also hear petty theft is pretty common there, as is cars running red lights and stuff.

[wooden nickels]

Korean spouse, Korea.

Single, China.

Only for 1 year, flip a coin.

Long-term earnings potential, China.

[isitts]

[isitts]

[Stain]

Actually, running red lights has become less frequent in recent years. I've been quite disappointed. It was one thing I really enjoyed about living here. Now, I obey traffic laws more because everybody else seems to do that.

[Mr. Pink]

[fustiancorduroy]

[wooden nickels]