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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:26 am Post subject: |
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True.
Try getting your airfare paid when you are already in Korea. |
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I'm With You
Joined: 01 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:47 am Post subject: |
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| Stan Rogers wrote: |
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. |
Good post!
I, and some people I've known over the years, have had apartments that were virtually unlivable! Many teachers have been burned on housing and flight costs.
Most university positions in Seoul no longer offer housing or flights.
Korean salaries are pretty low, especially when you consider the strength of the won these days. Japan is probably more lucrative now. |
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NQ
Joined: 16 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| I'm With You wrote: |
| Stan Rogers wrote: |
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. |
Good post!
I, and some people I've known over the years, have had apartments that were virtually unlivable! Many teachers have been burned on housing and flight costs.
Most university positions in Seoul no longer offer housing or flights.
Korean salaries are pretty low, especially when you consider the strength of the won these days. Japan is probably more lucrative now. |
Not all, MOST of them do. The most common jobs people are looking at coming here for (Public and private schools) are pretty similar. |
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plan b
Joined: 29 Jan 2013
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Squire wrote: |
| 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 |
You are being paid a pittance..and I will be too in March. How much more obvious can it get..nevertheless nobody is forcing me into those terms, and I truly plan to get as much out of the experience as I can |
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Guajiro
Joined: 04 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| plan b wrote: |
| Squire wrote: |
| 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 |
You are being paid a pittance..and I will be too in March. How much more obvious can it get..nevertheless nobody is forcing me into those terms, and I truly plan to get as much out of the experience as I can |
I suppose it depends on one's definition of a pittance. I personally don't consider paying off $10,000 a year in student debt while maintaining a fairly reasonable lifestyle a "pittance". But that's just me. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Stan Rogers wrote: |
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 severance.
This thread is filled with a lot generalizations and assumptions that are simply not true for everyone. |
If you work at a university then the circumstances can be different.
Newbies don't get uni jobs.
Any newbie who is stupid enough to take a (E2) job that doesn't include airfare, housing, pension probably won't know enough to google to find this site and know the difference.
Unless you fall into the private university category (exemption from the severance provisions of the labor law) then ALL other jobs are required to pay severance.
. |
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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Stan Rogers wrote: |
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 severance.
This thread is filled with a lot generalizations and assumptions that are simply not true for everyone. |
If you work at a university then the circumstances can be different.
Newbies don't get uni jobs.
Any newbie who is stupid enough to take a (E2) job that doesn't include airfare, housing, pension probably won't know enough to google to find this site and know the difference.
Unless you fall into the private university category (exemption from the severance provisions of the labor law) then ALL other jobs are required to pay severance.
. |
Although it is rare, newbies can get university jobs. Some universities do faculty exchanges, some are hired for ESL if they come with strong credentials and experience, some get jobs because of connections. I've worked with and have known people who were in these categories. There may be other exceptions out there as well.
If you hired in country there is a good chance you won't get reimbursed for your airfare.
Many schools are moving away from the practice of housing foreign teachers. The high rents in Korea are really putting a strain on school budgets for that. High rents also do not increase your chances of being put up in a nice place. Many schools have chosen to get out of the housing thing all together.
As for housing conditions and severance, there are plenty of other horror story threads people can read. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Stan Rogers wrote: |
Although it is rare, newbies can get university jobs. Some universities do faculty exchanges, some are hired for ESL if they come with strong credentials and experience, some get jobs because of connections. I've worked with and have known people who were in these categories. There may be other exceptions out there as well.
If you hired in country there is a good chance you won't get reimbursed for your airfare.
Many schools are moving away from the practice of housing foreign teachers. The high rents in Korea are really putting a strain on school budgets for that. High rents also do not increase your chances of being put up in a nice place. Many schools have chosen to get out of the housing thing all together.
As for housing conditions and severance, there are plenty of other horror story threads people can read. |
22,000+ E2s in Korea and you focus on the rare, few exceptions (less than one percent I would estimate).
If you are hired "in country" it would strongly suggest that you are not a newbie. They would also have to pay for your visa run if you were a newbie (since you wouldn't have a visa to transfer).
Newbies and renting their own place on arrival is a disaster waiting to happen. Any newbie who tries to do so, from abroad or on arrival is going to get burned.
I stand by what I wrote earlier in this thread.
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katsu
Joined: 15 Mar 2007
Location: here and there
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| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: Is the money in Korea laughable? How do you guys do it? |
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| plan b wrote: |
I just signed my contract to start teaching at Public school in March. It will be my first time in Korea, and I am going for a change of pace, and for personal growth. I am not going to Korea to get rich or make a lot of money.
Having said that...how do guys in Korea survive on 2 million Won a month?..Since I'm Canadian I did the Canadian conversion, and it worked out to 22,000 dollars a year. Yeah, I know you can put severance pay, and a return flight on top of that, as well as a small apartment but that is works out to...we'll not much. Since I'm Canadian I am also taxed on worldwide income, unlike other nationalities.
For years I've been hearing about the oodles of money people make in Korea teaching English...maybe there are just fables, or people working against terms of their contract..
How do you guys survive and save the thousands I hear people boasting on this forum?
I'm glad I'm only going for a year...I'm sure I'll enjoy Korea, but I can't afford to work there.
Any thoughts? |
I agree, you can definitely save a bunch or spend a bunch depending on your lifestyle. Whatever the base pay is, you may have a chance to do overtime, and depending on how much that is, you may make a lot more than you would normally with just the base pay. At my old public school I used to do over time, and would make around 600 000 won give or take monthly. This definitely came in handy as I like to live comfortably and travel quite a lot within Asia. At my last school, which wasn't a public school, I was able to make 700 000 monthly on top of my salary. Doing that for 2 years helped a lot in paying off my loans/credit cards and bill. Once I was done, I didn't come back home with thousands stacked up, not at all as most of my money went into my bills/travels and more than comfortable life style. To sum it up, you can live "lavishly" or save quite a bit depending on the choices you make, and schools you choose. I did not come to Korea to make money, but rather for the experience, but to my surprise, you can make decent money and have a decent lifestyle. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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As Edward and others have already mentioned - it's about lifestyle choices. I've known some ppl who have gotten by with spending under 500k a month, others cannot save with 6 mill a month income.
I don't want to live either of their lifestyles. But I respect that everyone is different.
Korea is a good match for some, a very bad match for others. Read through experiences here, and see if it sounds like a good for for you. |
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Threequalseven
Joined: 08 May 2012
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| plan b wrote: |
| You are being paid a pittance..and I will be too in March. |
Seems like the term pittance is quite subjective. I'm making more now in my first year here than I've ever made in my life. It's not a fortune, but teachers here fall well within the top 5% of income earners in the world. If you've lived your whole life in downtown Toronto, I guess it seems like chump change, but this is a pretty sweet deal for a lot of people.
I just don't understand why all these yuppie finance guys come to Korea. They brag about their ridiculous $90,000 salaries back home and do nothing but trash-talk Korea the whole time they're here. If you're not coming here to save money, then why come? Go teach in Thailand or somewhere where the weather is nice year round. |
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Threequalseven
Joined: 08 May 2012
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 3:07 am Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
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| no car payments (or gas or car insurance), |
Why no car payments? Maybe you'll decide you want to have a car, maybe you won't... |
Posts like these make me cringe too. This ignores the entire infrastructure of Korea vs. Canada or the USA. In most parts of Canada and America, you're practically required to own a car to fulfill all your basic needs (access to food, retail, employment, entertainment, other cities, etc). Though it's possible to live without a car, it's very impractical to do so unless you live in a major metro. In contrast, you can live anywhere in Korea with ease without a car. That's the difference. You might as well argue that there is no difference in housing costs either, because you could live in a box back home if that was your lifestyle choice. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:05 am Post subject: |
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| Posts like these make me cringe too. This ignores the entire infrastructure of Korea vs. Canada or the USA. In most parts of Canada and America, you're practically required to own a car to fulfill all your basic needs (access to food, retail, employment, entertainment, other cities, etc). Though it's possible to live without a car, it's very impractical to do so unless you live in a major metro. In contrast, you can live anywhere in Korea with ease without a car. That's the difference. You might as well argue that there is no difference in housing costs either, because you could live in a box back home if that was your lifestyle choice. |
Never been to Canada or the US so I'll take your word for it. If you're going along those lines, you could also argue that Korea is very expensive to get out of for vacations or trips home so that adds costs that you wouldn't incur if you stayed in Canada. I can't really see the difference in arguments. As for the small apartment yes I would argue that it's an invalid point. You wouldn't say for example that the UK is a much cheaper place to live than France if you lived in a one bed studio in the UK and a chateau in France.
The saving thing's been done to death and I accept that the lifestyle most people chose here means they can save more money than in their own countries but that doesn't mean the cost of living is lower here. Like I said before you'd have to live identical lifestyles to prove that point. |
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comm
Joined: 22 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:17 am Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| The saving thing's been done to death and I accept that the lifestyle most people chose here means they can save more money than in their own countries but that doesn't mean the cost of living is lower here. Like I said before you'd have to live identical lifestyles to prove that point. |
Would you concede that someone living on $1,000 per month will live better in Korea (particularly Seoul) than someone living on $1,000 per month in most of the native English speaking countries (particularly cities comparable to Seoul)? |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:19 am Post subject: |
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| Would you concede that someone living on $1,000 per month will live better in Korea (particularly Seoul) than someone living on $1,000 per month in most of the native English speaking countries (particularly cities comparable to Seoul)? |
Well London's officially the most expensive city in the world now I think, so yes to that, but I personally think that I could make 1,000 dollars go further in Manchester or Birmingham, Especially nowadays with all the everything for a pound shops and recession beating deals at supermarkets |
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