Korean Job Discussion Forums

Jammer · Joined: 15 Feb 2007

Anyways, I'm currently living and teaching in Taiwan and it's my second time around. Last time I saved loads of money and did some travelling and adventuring, but this time I'm not saving anything with my current work situation (due to slumping economy as well as an overabudance of teachers). And the big reason I came back was to save money(travel and grad school) and that goal is not being fulfilled-so I need to move on.

Fellow teachers here in TW have always told me that teaching in S. Korea has the greatest savings potential for teaching ESL, is this true? How much could I save in a year? I love to drink coffee, but I don't drink and I rarely go out to clubs/bars. But I am a semi-pro Muay Thai fighter, so I plan on training all the time and hopefully fighting(training costs?).

One guy told me that the kids are horrible in Korea, is there any relevance to this? I should note though that this guy was not the best character and kids here in TW aren't much better; moreover, I like dealing with bad-ass students to an extent.

The same guy also said the local people are very cold and that it makes fellow expats not the nicest people. But again TW is not that much different...

Misc. things

How's the coffee?

Is there a big expat crowd?

Easy to get decent clothes for a good price?

How are the crowds?

I only know how to say 'hello' and 'stop' in Korean, will I survive (from a korean ex-GF)? Though I'm about 75 percent fluent in Chinese-would this help?

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Everyone has a different experience, so it's hard to get an exact picture of it in your head.

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

DanielP · Joined: 25 Nov 2006

Hey Jammer,
I liked your post as it sounds that you are a traveller and teacher. Although I have only been in Korea for a month or so and I live in Seoul I can answer some if not all your questions.

How's the coffee?

Being used to brewed American coffee at $1.50 a cup, I'm not impressed with Korea vis a vis coffee. There is insta-coffee, which is drink-able, but it's not brewed coffee. You can get brewed coffee at starbucks and such, but at approx $3.00 a cup, it's more expensive than in the states. You can get a brewer and brewed coffee at stores, howver again, coffee is quite pricier here, which makes sense cauze of supply and demand.

Is there a big expat crowd?

In Seoul, there is a big expat croud in district called Itaewon (you can find it on a Seoul subway map). Actually, although I love Korean culture and people, I like going to Itaewon when I want out of the Korean way of life for a bit.

Easy to get decent clothes for a good price?
I don't have much experience here, so I'll leave this for someone else to answer.

How are the crowds?
I take it you mean the social scene? I found Koreans to be a mixed bag. They are either very friendly to you, or won't even gaze in your direction. In my experience, I've witnessed the former more often, and I love mingling with those Koreans because we are working on communicating, laughing, and having fun. Even though Koreans are a mixed lot, I love the crowds.

I only know how to say 'hello' and 'stop' in Korean, will I survive (from a korean ex-GF)? Though I'm about 75 percent fluent in Chinese-would this help?

You need to learn Korean. If anything, learn Korean. I think Chinese will help more than you think. Korea uses a Chinese set of numbers, according to my manager who is practicing Chinese, there are some similar words. Also, you're lucky because you've got experience learning Eastern languages, which is very helpful. Western languages don't help for squat =(

I have more to say, however I gtg. I hope this helps some and in any case, enjoy yourself wherever you end up going.

DannyP Wink

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

seoulsucker

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

Jammer,

I'd say the two most important things are finding a good job and choosing a location that fits your needs. SOme people say you can be happy anywhere, but choosing a location does matter depending upon what types of things you like to do.

If I had to guess, you probably would want to be closer to Seoul. I also think you probably lead a pretty active lifestyle (I'm guessing of course) so being closer to Seoul you would have more opproutunities to meet other teachers.

In terms of the kids behavior, it really depends on the age you want to teach and whether you want to teach at a hagwon, public school or a university. I have taught at both a hagwon and public school and prefer the latter.

Whatever school you decide to teach at, do lots of research so you don't get screwed.

VirginIslander · Joined: 24 May 2006 Location: Busan

Hello, I am here in Busan and I know of three Muay Thai gyms in the area. I trained at two of them. I have met several foriegners training here, one who is a professional fighter--unlike myself. You can easily find a fight here if you are looking for one.

Whether you are at a hawgron or a public school in this area, you could get up to 3 hours a day in training. Hypothetically, I could train from 11-1 in the morning and then from 10-11 at night. Its $90 per month. You could also spend another hour at the gym in the morning. Four hours a day: not bad.

If you go to the gym, its another $60. Also, you have $50 for house bills. With $300-500 a day for food, at a salary of 2.1 million won (1.8 after taxes, medical, etc..), you will save between 1.1-1.3 per month, or about 1,000 to 1,300 US a month.

With a bonus and severance at the end the year, you could easily save over 15,000 US a year.

However, when calculating savings, take into consideration some factors. Will you take a trip during your one-week hagron vacation? 1,000 US gone. Or, will you work at a public school and fly to Thailand during your longers breaks and spend even more money.

freethought · Joined: 13 Mar 2005

answers:

easy as hell to make money and save it. Standard hagwon contract is 2.0 mil. You have no rent to pay. You can get the net and a cell phone, plus all your bills and that will come to about 200,000 won. So assuming after taxes you're around 1.85 million, that's 1.65 million every month to do as you please with. If you're not doing stupid things, you can easily save 1 million a month. If you are doing stupid things you can still save 500,000 a month with ease.

Gaber · Joined: 23 Apr 2006

Pak Yu Man · Joined: 02 Jun 2005 Location: The Ida galaxy

If you're not coming for the women or the booze, you're coming for the wrong reasons Smile

Jammer · Joined: 15 Feb 2007

Cool guys, thanks for the replies...It's interesting because Taiwan forum posters-not necessarily Daves but also forumosa, always seem to have pessimistic attitudes about Taiwan and the issues surrounding living and working here-myself included..Yet here I don't really feel that

Well it looks I'll be coming to Korea

blynch · Joined: 25 Oct 2006 Location: UCLA

nautilus · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

[quote="Jammer"]

Muffin · Joined: 01 Mar 2006 Location: Turkey

I don't know about Taiwanese children but I really miss the children I taught in Korea (but not much else!).

It's luck of course and it depends which age group you teach, but after supply teaching in British schools I thought the Korean kids were angels.

When I was looking for work in Korea I was trying to find a job teaching adults as I considered myself a kiddy hater. However, in the end I decided I hated split shifts more so I taught kids. Honestly they were great and I am still in touch with some of them.

I also miss the money I saved in Korea - couldn't complain about that.

Korean people are like other people, some are nice some aren't. If you are friendly generally they will be. I had more positive than negative experiences with Koreans.