Korean Job Discussion Forums

[leebumlik69]

I have been in Korea almost 2 years now, and I enjoy being here.
I have good friends and I like my job and though I don't believe I can settle here, I wonder who can, is doing so, or plans to in the future, and why.

Trolls! Please don't reply to this thread if you have no intention of settling here. I don't want any "Korea is $#*!, that's why I can't.." please, unless you're joking

My problems are not to do with a stable job.
As has been rightly pointed out, you definitely can sustain yourself here. There's allot of work to be found for those who want to work extra hours and if you're married or know the language, this gets better. You are more free to be entrepreneurial, and work outside of ESL in Korea, or work for a company in IT, or commerce.

My problems lie in the fact that you are essentially adapting not just to Korea in living here but to a select group in Korea.

In Western countries, there is less protectionism on cars etc. so unless you are rich in Korea you won't be driving around in a Ford or a Renault.
If you like diversity of many different brands of cars on the roads, would it not feel strangely ironic that you are not a part of that diversity in Korea? Instead it would inevitably be some rich Korean dude that will be driving the unusual car and not you.

This is an image of an apartment building in Ilsan:


I would be happy to here from any "Westerner" who lives in a place like this as it is much more in line with a Western apartment building. But, I imagine you'd need allot of coin to live there, maybe beyond what ESL can provide.





A "real" house in Ilsan!


Houses like the one above can be found in Ilsan for example, where many of the next generation of Koreans are starting to realize that life can offer more than an apartment complex can provide. In Ilsan, there are whole blocks of these houses which cost a great deal of money. In Korea, you pay a high price for a garden and a fence, but some can!




A resort home somewhere in Korea.





I just worry that it's too much bitter irony to live in a country where you become the Korean norm and the Korean norm becomes something more.

My other problem is education. More and more wealthy Korean students travel abroad at a young age and get valuable life experience and a taste of foreign education. Or, they attend international schools where they are not fully submersed in the regimented rot learning Korean education system. It seems tough that these kids get the best of both worlds, while a Westerners kids typically won't have rich enough parents to pay for these things.

Finally, I want to say that I think there is nothing wrong with adapting to the cultural norm in Korea. Crime is generally low for example. This country has a lot of very positive features. The extra "western decadence" that some of the new generations of Koreans are striving towards may bring negative side effects with it.

Thanks for reading. I am HAPPY for anyone who has considered these things and is still comfortable with life in Korea, and I'm interested
in why they are comfortable with it.

[Saxiif]

I wouldn't mind living here a looooooooooong time. The only thing I'm really leery of is the education system if I have kids...

As far as cars go, I LOVE not having to have a car, they're more of a pain in the ass to find parking for/way insurance for/keep maintained/etc. so that's great. And as for housing I'm saving up key money for a place that's a good step up from standard teacher housing ATM. I should be able to afford a nice big place next year since where I live is cheap.

[Harpeau]

Ditto on not owning a car. I love the subway/taxis/buses. Owning a car would be a huge ha$$le.

On April 6th, it'll be 10 years in Korea. We recently put some "key money" down and plan to stay for at least a couple more years. Working at a uni for 12 hours (classes) and 7 hours (Office hours) per week (not to mention 5 months paid vacation per yer) is really sweet. It leaves me with lo ts of free time to do things~ like play play Online Monopoly!!
http://games.atari.com/playgames/monopoly/lobby.jsp

[VirginIslander]

For those who have kids and teacher certification, get a job at international school and then your kids receive free tuition!

[Homer]

Interesting post leebumlik69.

You ask good questions and I hope this leads to a constructive discussion.

I arrived here in 1997...so I am going obn my 10th year and I had visited in 1996 (asian trip of 3 weeks included Japan where my brother lives).

I find that home is where you make it. I am very happy here because I have a rich family life with my wife and son and her family. I have 3 great nieces here and watching them grow up is a pleasure.

We live in a nice appartment with an ocean view in Busan. It is a not an appartment super-tower but rather a mid-sized building. Our place is a good size but then again I was never one for wanting the whole huge house and big yard thing. Behind our buildings are mountains and our neighborhood has plenty of cool little shops, a great open air market nearby and so son.
We have no need for one of those larger houses but I can understand how some people would seek to get those.

I have improved my employment situation every year since I arrived and started working as a consultant on top of my teaching job a few years ago.

Korea has its drawbacks but it also has its advantages. I find the plus-minus ratio comes out very much on the plus side for me here.


Education wise, we are not really worried. Our son will attend school here (not decided if it will be local school or an international school). He is already attending day care here and that has been a real treat. He is loving it. As our son is mixed (Korean-Canadian) we want him to value both cultures equally if possible so education here is not an issue. He can do his university in Canada later if he so wishes.

As for product availability, it can be an issue sometimes. However concerning cars...I could not care less what brand my car is! In fact we own a car that sits in the parking lot most of the time as we only use it for trips and sometimes to do larger grocery runs. Most of the time we use taxis and public transit because they are top notch here.

Some people may feel the need to acquire certain goods for status (fancier car for example) but this is so far off our radar that it does not even come into play for us. I frankly could not care less what the next guy is driving or where he lives. I found that comparing yourself to others is the best way to waste your time and is pretty much a fruitless pursuit. Live your life, help others when you can but whats the point of looking at what others have. The rich Korean dude down the road wants to drive a mercedes...good for him. I would not plunk down that much cash on a mode of transport that is meant to get you from point A to point B. My money is meant for things that matter more to us...education, travel....

I truly think that a place is really all about what you make of it and how you and it fit together.

[RobertX]

my 10 year anniversary is april 2, this monday actually

i am here because i too have a uni job, this semester i get fri -sat- sun off...i travel anywhere in the world i want during my vacations...life is good. Sure its irritating here sometimes ,but when i visit canada every summer i get irritated there too(for different reasons of course)

anyhow, im not going to have kids but if i were to i might be worried about education costs. Also, i want to not have to ever buy a car here. Ive thought about getting a motorcycle but dont want to die yet.
i'd like a nice place to live too but the chonsey around 100-150 mil won is out of the question and i dont want to throw away 1 mil won a month for a nice place. I have adequate housing in Itaewon

[laogaiguk]

Just my opinion, but I would never put my kids through public education here. Also, after elementary school (international) I would take them home. I hate to say it, but many of us started our careers for no other reason than we were born and raised in an ENglish speaking country (though we may have upgraded those skills considerably). Right or not, that is a big deal. I would not deprive my child of that. I don't think that my home country is better than Korea, just that growing up there (especially high school) is very important in the current international scene.

[Captain Corea]

I've been here 5+ and plan for a whole lot more.

I own a Apt. and a car.

However, after the second child I'd consider moving into one of those great lookin' houses.

[leebumlik69]

[JohnTeacher]

In the words of an old song...."Home is where the heart is...."

I have a wonderful fiancee....a Korean lady....a great job....and look to the future with optimism. Yes....I can look on some of the past here with regret...but life....ALL life.....anywhere....is a learning experience. I'm lucky to have the woman, job and lifestyle I enjoy here.
I understand this isn't the place for everyone...but the same can easily be said about any location on this ol' Earth.

[merkurix]

When I first arrived in Korea in 2003, my original plan was just to teach one year for the adventure and split. Two suitcases were my life coming in and two suitcases were my life going out of here--that was the plan. I never anticipated becoming addicted to the life here to the point of doing this for four almost five years now. Somewhere down the lines (like JohnTeacher and many others of you) I met my wonderful Korean future wife in mid 2005 and now we are getting married this year. When I started my new job in Suwon I had to hire some help moving and use delivery services for a few dozen boxes! So much for a two-suitcase life! I am here to stay!

[JohnTeacher]

[merkurix]

[faster]

I've been here almost 5 years, and was starting to think about moving on, but thanks to a new job, I think I'll be here for quite a while.

I like it here, but needed to do something a little bit more career-ish than what I was doing, something that would allow me to create a bit of a future plan. This seems to be falling into place now.

Still weonsae, but not for long; no car, but don't want/need one; not married, but starting to think about it.

[zappadelta]