Job Discussion Forums

[la belle fille]

So, my husband and I spent some time in Korea last year but had a bad experience and left early.

We're thinking of trying to teach abroad again and were looking into maybe going to another country.

I see that you can't really save much money in Thailand compared to how much you can save in Korea.

So my question is - should we go to Thailand for a year first, have fun and then go to Korea for a year to make money and then go home? What worries me about this is that after going to Thailand (which sounds really relaxing and fun) we wouldn't want to go back to Korea (which was stressful) and therefore we'd save no money to take home with us.

OR

Should we go to Korea for a year, make money, put it in the bank, take a little to Thailand and spend a nice year there and then go home? Would we still have quite a bit of savings in the bank when we left Thailand - or do you have to bring a lot of savings there just to get by?

[JasonBoone]

Some of my friends go out to Korea just for the summer to make money. You could go for perhaps a summer or just a single semester, and then make your way back to Thailand. Search around for contracts that are shorter than a year. Just an idea for you.

Jason

[JasonBoone]

By the way, is your name Elisabeth?!

[la belle fille]

[Miyazaki]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

xxxx

[oxfordstu]

I spent a year in Korea and then went to teach a year in Thailand, and now I'm back in Korea. If there are two of you, you can get by.....just barely. You probably won't save money in Thailand. I made 30,000 baht a month, and I was living in Pattaya, because that's where the school was. I would advise against working in a tourist town unless you want to get ripped off on a daily basis. I paid 6,000 baht in rent, 3,000 for a motorbike, and about 1,000 per month in utilities. After Korea, I paid off my credit card and had about 3k left. In about 4 months of living in Thailand it was nearly all gone (mainly from traveling through provinces for interviews and hotel rooms). But like I said, if there are two of you, 2 incomes will definitely make it easier.

[jammish]

I'm surprised that it's so hard to save in Thailand. I mean I know the salaries are low, but 36,000 baht works out to 8500 RMB. I was on a lot less than that in China (which is pricier than Thailand) and still managed to save money. I guess it's cos there's bugger all to do in China, whereas in Thailand there are just more 'distractions'...

[la belle fille]

[cafecafe]

My advice: rough it for a year in Korea, Japan or Taiwan and then travel to Thailand for a nice vacation. Most teachers in Thailand live on a slave wage so you won't be able to save much.

[takgeyon]

I have been teaching in Thailand for a while and I taught in Korea for 1 1/2 years. As far as the pay goes, with being able to teach privates (in Korea you can do it but it's techinically illegal and if you get caught they will deport you) you can make just about as much as the Korean base pay. I found that I spent more in Korea trying to alleviate depression and isolation than I could ever save. Korean culture is for the Koreans and soon you will find that the things the Koreans find fun, liesure activities are really unsatisfying. Thailand is chock full of cool things to do in comparison. Korean food is vile and disgusting so you will be spending lots on high priced restaurant food or inflated western cooking materials.
I know that the OP is married but for anyone else reading this thread finding opposite sex companionship for women is next to impossible and like pulling teeth out of a shark for the men. Although the Koreans will shower you with all the most sonderful comments in the world about you being, hansome, beautiful, like a movie star, etc... all these are really veiled insults and you will soon realise that Koreans think you are simply a dirty piece of trash like all the rest of the non Korean world.

[maximmm]

Hmm... I'd disagree with Korean food being disgusting. I find it actually pretty good. Mind you, I've never had diarrhea in Korea, while in Thailand plenty of times even after tasting food at high quality restaurants.

Opposite sex companionship is a problem, due to racism. Mind you, many young people wouldn't mind having a foreigner as a b/f or g/f, but the older people often look down on such a mix, and if your g/f is korean, they will suffer... perhaps spit on, or at least verbally insulted for being intimate with a foreigner. Mind you, foreigner females don't have as much of a problem finding a Korean b/f, and seldom do Korean men face any insults from their peers, though it does happen.

I'm currently in Thailand, and I'd say that it is easier to live here, as you don't get any racist remarks. In Korea many people have problem because of racism, this makes them cynical, angry and frustrated... understandably so. The money in Korea is better though, so are the students (in public schools). Everything is more organized and schools generally offer more support.

I dunno... I would say that if you decide to go to Korea, go to Seoul or Pusan. It's not advisable to live in a small city as there racism is a definite issue, not to mention that it's not easy to get by knowing without knowing Korean... or live a normal life without being fluent in it.

I had many friends in Korea (majority being foreigners) so living there was bearable.

[tedkarma]

I spent six years total in Korea - working there twice.

It makes more sense to go there, work a couple years - then maybe work a year in Thailand - then back to Korea for a couple years.

My opinion is that you'll even work harder in Thailand - though you'll earn and save far less.

[takgeyon]

[takgeyon]