Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Suwoner10]

[laogaiguk]

I must admit, everyone I know, and I mean everyone who works at a hagwon has been lied to in some way. Many had to fight for pension and insurance. Some had to fight to get out of mold infested apartments. It's not exactly the best sample group, but there is definitely a lack of honesty in the Korean ESL industry while Japan is the exact opposite. Lots of red tape, but I never worried about dishonesty there.

[Mosley]

There is a persistent myth that there is a "visa minimum" that is legally required in Japan. Rubbish. Many work for less, unfortunately. Not ONCE has anyone ever provided a link to an OFFICIAL site that says employers are legally obligated to pay no less than 250,000/mo. Also, if airfare is not included in a contract, there's no obligation on the employer's part to provide it.

Two generalities about Korea vs. Japan: MOST teachers find it easier to save in Korea. MOST teachers in Japan find life in Japan more enjoyable than do their Korean counterparts. So as a general rule, one must decide what's more important: cold hard cash or "the experience"?

[Are they the lemmings]

[NightSky]

[Mosley]

Are they lemmings: good post. I believe min. wage laws in Japanese prefectures refer to hourly minimums, as in many Western countries.

The hourly minimum in the ROK is a national one and has little relevance for EFLers because it's so low. Bit of an aside there.

[cangel]

I taught in Japan for almost 7 years in a HS and private language school. The take home money isn't as good because you will be paying for housing and quite expensive national insurance/pension (should your employer do the right thing). Someone wrote that they were making 5-600,000 Yen/month? What were you doing in Tokyo? The highest English teacher salary I have ever seen in Japan was an on-air talent who was making 480,000 yen/month. I did know a couple of long-term Nova stooges who were making in the low to mid 400,000s. A typical Tokyo salary (ESL/EFL) will get you Y250-320,000/month, unless you are really lucky and get a one in a thousand job.

Japan and Korea are vastly different. Japan is all clean and nice with friendly people that respect law and boundaries. Korea is like Tombstone, Arizona during the olden days... This is nice, in a feral sort of way. I enjoy it, but the lack of civility here tends to be intrusive after a while. Japan is much cleaner, quieter (relatively speaking) and 1st world. Korea has a long way to go. Seoul, soul of Asia... Yeah, right.

I've saved a lot more $$$ in Korea. However, overall quality of life is far greater in Japan (IMHO). The language school market has been stagnant for over a decade. With the collapse of Nova, there's no shortage of experienced teachers looking for full-time work, so getting a really good job will be difficult. Additionally, with a saturated market, don't expect ekaiwa contracts to change any time soon.

I would highly recommend Japan, though. It's a great country with warm people. Koreans have a long way to go, socially speaking.

As for salary (official) MOFA states that for a working visa:

The applicant should receive no less salary than a Japanese national would receive for comparable work.

http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/appendix1.html

[TECO]

[visitorq]

[Tiger Beer]

[The Archivist]

as someone who taught in both japan and korea and have lots of friends who've done the same i can say that there are a lot of good comments on here.
here's the difference, though, that you can get by reading between the lines: in japan you will have a much better lifestyle and not have to constantly have that 'i save more money than an esl teacher in japan' chip on your shoulder. and that is NOT the case if you're putting in any amount of time in japan. you'll never hear the opposite of that if you live in japan.
yes things are expensive (but not much more than vancouver or toronto, if you've lived in those cities), but after 6 months of working at nova (on 265,000Y/month since i have an MA, plus working the odd overtime day here and there) straight out of uni and not being an expert at the esl game at all, i'd saved enough key money for me and my now ex to get our own place, i then quit nova and worked at different schools and did privates, always making sure i was meeting my monetary goals over the month. i paid off a little more than $46,000 CDN in student debt in 13 months doing that, with my own NICE apartment in a great beach town just south of yokohama. and my last job was gaba, actually, but since i was whoring myself doing sales and demo lessons for them, i was making shiteloads on bonuses and gave up all but 2 of my privates for the extra time at gaba.
i went to korea on a lark since i had friends there and wanted a change of pace for a while. i went with a tiny, crappy hagwon because it was convenient for my situation. the boss constantly tried to rip us all off, but i had no end of money to eat out and drink while smoking cigarettes, which is what i wanted to do.

[cangel]

The pension scheme in Japan works out to 1 months salary for every year you worked in the country (basically). This is a one time lump-sum withdrawl for foreigners and must be applied for from outside Japan. The Japanese government holds something like 5% (can't remember exactly) in reserve but you can apply to get that after receiving your other 95%. You have to have someone you trust in Japan to receive the final payment and forward it to you. In all, I didn't have any problems getting my money-no hassle. Please, these are 4 year old memories, so if I'm off a tad, please forgive me...

[Tiger Beer]

[Darashii]

From the perspective of an ex-ALT, I agree with most of what's been said.

Good luck! Whether or not you're making a lot, you're sure to have a good time.

And then when Korea catches up, you can come back here.

[Are they the lemmings]