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Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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Cynical Optimist
Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Location: S.E. Korea
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 Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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| it placed fourth in household savings |
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| Koreans claimed the top of the list this year in terms of hours worked per year |
This is something I have been wondering about. Why the heck do some Koreans work SO much? I have a friend who makes about 11mil won/month (he's 50) and he only takes about 2 days off per month. Recently he started working a graveyard shift from 6pm to 6am. Why? He'll make more money. He has already told me that he saves 60% of his monthly salary. Also, his wife works full time and they save her entire salary. They only have one child who's now in his last 2 years of university. He has lived away from his wife most of his career. Right now they are 3-4 hours apart by car. He seems to be fine with that though! 
I guess he's just saving for his retirement -- don't know what he'll have besides his own savings. He works in shipbuilding and changes companies when contracts finish.
Anyway, the only thing he seems to spend money on is going to bars and restaurants. Doesn't seem to spend much on other leisure activities. Also, drives a car that's 10 years old. His apartment is looking a bit old and the wallpaper is yellowing.
I'm all for saving money and not spending it on stupid materialistic junk, but there are things to spend money on that would improve the quality of life -- vacations and travel, and I would include 2 days off a week as something to "spend money" on -- that is, taking the reduced pay in exchange for a little R&R.
(1) Not enough saving and having too much fun now = paying for it later.
(2) Saving like crazy now and not enjoying life much = life passes you by.
I'm guilty of #1, I'd say my friend is a bit guilty of #2 (tho maybe I don't know enough about his situation).
It just seems like a lot of Koreans go the #2 route.
Maybe Americans like me do too much #1.
Which is worse? And where the heck is #1.5?
On a side note, I think noise ordinances would help improve the quality of life here -- no machines raping the street in front of your apartment at 7am on a Sunday, no power-saws working at 1am trying to get that new bar ready to open, no adjuma walking around at 1am on a Tuesday selling snacks by using a PA system to shout, "Aaassaaahhh-Yoooow!" (or whatever it's saying) |
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Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Who moved the post?
Would this post be more appropriate in the General Discussion Forum? How does a post on the quality of life in Korea fit into the Off-Topic Forum?
General Discussion Forum
Forum for general discussion on issues related to *living* in South Korea. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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The article says that S. Korea needs to add more social services to provide a better safety net for its citizens.
Hmmmmmm? Sounds like the case with a much bigger & richer country? Need any hints?
How about KATRINA? |
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Real Reality
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 1:43 am Post subject: |
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Who moved this post?
Would this post be more appropriate in the General Discussion Forum? How does a post on the quality of life in Korea fit into the Off-Topic Forum?
General Discussion Forum
Forum for general discussion on issues related to *living* in South Korea. |
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