Korean Job Discussion Forums

charlieDD · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Seoul, Korea

I was surprised to learn the other day that the Taiwanese average GDP is $29,000 a year. That's just a few thousand behind the Japanese average of $33,000 a year.

Korea's might be up to $20K by now, with the help of the exchange rate (strengthening won).

There are 22 million Taiwanese; nearly 50 million South Koreans. So, population-wise, Taiwan is 40% the size of Korea.

Taiwan's purchasing power parity overall GDP is 640 billion; Korea's PPP GDP is 1,100 billion. Economy-wise, Taiwan is about 60% the size of Korea.

At the same time, Korea is way up there in terms of cost of living, while Taiwan comes in about average for a developed country.

Anyone lived and worked in Taiwan? Do you see a difference, standard of living-wise from Korea?

VanIslander · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 3:29 pm Post subject:

Seoul is not typical of Korea.

A lot of Koreans have a standard of living closer to the Vietnamese than the Japanese.

congee · Joined: 08 Jun 2007

I've lived in both places. I have to say I'm a little surprised that Taiwan's GDP figures are that high. I guess you do see a lot examples of wealth there though (probably more often on average than you would encounter in Korea).

The English ability and general attitude of Taiwanese kids is a hell of a lot better, that's for sure.

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

charlieDD · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Seoul, Korea

mithridates

Octavius Hite · Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:15 pm Post subject:

I like Taiwan alot but I found it very, very boring. There's no open drinking culture there, I went to an all night market and nobody was drinking, whereas in Korea it would be full of hundreds of drunken ajosshis puking on the ground. It was very dull during the week.

As for standard of living I found it to be much cheaper, and more foreign choices (cars, foods, etc).

twg · Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Location: Getting some fresh air...

I'm thinking of heading there next year. Korea has nothing but money to offer me by this point in my life. Which is good, but I need more.

charlieDD · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Seoul, Korea

crazy_arcade · Joined: 05 Nov 2006

GDP doesn't mean that much. It's one indicator but not the be all end all.

If we merely went by GDP then the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have much higher standards of living, right?

I'd go by the HDI.

In which case, here are the top 30 countries.

Norway 0.965 ()
Iceland 0.960 ()
Australia 0.957 ()
Ireland 0.956 ( 4)
Sweden 0.951 ( 1)
Canada 0.950 ( 1)
Japan 0.949 ( 4)
United States 0.948 ( 2)
Switzerland 0.947 ( 2)
Netherlands 0.947 ( 2)
Finland 0.947 ( 2)
Luxembourg 0.945 ( Cool

Belgium 0.945 ( 4)
Austria 0.944 ( 3)
Denmark 0.943 ( 1)
France 0.942 ()
Italy 0.940 ( 1)
United Kingdom 0.940 ( 3)
Spain 0.938 ( 2)
New Zealand 0.936 ( 1)
Germany 0.932 ( 1)
Hong Kong 0.927 ()
Israel 0.927 ()
Greece 0.921 ()
Singapore 0.916 ()
Republic of Korea 0.912 ( 2)
Slovenia 0.910 ( 1)
Portugal 0.904 ( 1)
Cyprus 0.903 ()
Czech Republic 0.

Korea's not doing too badly for itself. It's sitting in pretty good company.
Of course Taiwan isn't included in this because it's not even recognized as an official state.

VanIslander · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:12 am Post subject:

zappadelta · Joined: 31 Aug 2004

What are the universities like in Taiwan? Anyone have experience working at one? Is it pretty competitive to get a uni job there?

Yaya · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

ghost · Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Location: Many congenial places

Taiwan:

1. Much cheaper than Korea, so your purchasing power is much, much better.

2. You can rent apartments easily for about $200-$300 U.S. a month outside of Taipei. I had a 3 bedroom apartment in good condition in Taichung, paying just $260 a month.

3. Meals are much cheaper in Taiwan. You can eat well for about $1.50-$2.50 U.S. - Korea twice the price.

4. Taiwan food much better, more varied, and more tasty.

5. Taiwan much hotter, more humid and smoggier.

Korea

1. Free accommodation in all jobs is money saver and convenient.

2. Schools in Korea usually find accommodation next to or within walking distance of the school.

3. Four seasons and much more temperate climate. Believe me, that makes your life easier in the long run. If you have spent 1 summer in Taiwan with the heat, humidity and pollution, you will want to leave that country fast, to never come back.

4. I prefer Korean people - more affectionate and honest. Yes, they sometimes lose their tempers - but their behaviour more closely resembles the West compared with the Taiwanese who are more underhanded and less honest in their true sentiments. Koreans are the Latinos of this area of Asia.

5. Much less pollution in Korea, and much less population density. Taiwan has a horrendous population concentration, and pollution from all the scooters make it hell to commute.

6. Plenty of mountains, hills and forests everwhere in Korea. A paradise for aerobic fitness fans like me who like to jog, bike and be outdoors.

7. I find people and kids quite a bit more friendly in Korea. In Taiwan I was completely ignored all the time - you felt like an invisible person.

In Korea, children and adults often say hello everywhere I go - it is not much, but the basic friendliness is much appreciated.

8. You can learn to read Korean in a relatively short time frame (one week to a couple of months depending on the individual), and this means that language learning will then be easier once you have the hangul characters down. In Taiwan, on the other hand, learning Chinese characters takes years of concentrated study. It is very mind numbing, and the repetition and drudgery will get you down. High atttrition rate.

Ghost