Korean Job Discussion Forums

asylum seeker · Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Location: On your computer screen.

When you go out with a group of other foreigners and there's a tab on the table quietly slip out before everyone else finishes without leaving any money. Not even a measly 10 000 won. It's a great way to go out and get drunk for free.

Oh, and if your Korean workmates often buy snacks at work partake of them as much as possible (you may not even need to eat dinner that evening if you get in quickly enough!) but don't feel the need to ever reciprocate and shout them any snacks. After all you're only here in their godforsaken country to earn money! Human relations pale in comparison to your quest to earn as much money as possible in your allotted time.

sojusucks · Joined: 31 May 2008

I try to buy food in bulk to save money, usually at CostCo.

I loaded up on American beef, which costs less than Korean and Australian beef (much less).

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

Drew345 · Joined: 24 May 2005

Don't know if these 2 have been mentioned yet:

1. Do shopping in 30 minute increments where possible. You can take a bus to some place, shop 30 min, transfer free to the subway, shop 30 min, then transfer free to another bus to go on from there. You don't have to have it rule your life, but use those 30 min free transfers when you just need to stop in somewhere.

2. Stay out of all convenience stores. Their price mark-ups are crazy. It's good for your health and your wallet to just stay out of them.

Harpeau · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC

Shop at vintage clothing stores. Dongmyo station, exit #3 has a good one. Awesome herringbone tweed jackets for 8,000 won or so!

rooster_2006 · Joined: 14 Oct 2007

Draz · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Location: Land of Morning Clam

kiteflyer · Joined: 27 Jan 2008

edited

girlcabbie · Joined: 15 Oct 2008

rooster_2006 · Joined: 14 Oct 2007

Get a prepaid phone and re-up it only once every three months (for 10,000 won per re-up). After a month has elapsed after each re-up, you will not be able to make calls, but you will still be able to receive them if someone needs to call you about something important. So that's 3,333 won a month for a cell phone plan. For outbound calls, use Skype or a phone card (both are MUCH cheaper, and do not need to be re-upped on a regular basis). Doing this, telephony shouldn't cost you more than 4,000 won a month if you only use it for important stuff.

If you need cheap western food, buy cheap MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) in Dongdaemun Market. I've picked up many delicious, vacuum-packed dishes for 100 won a piece that way.

Take one of the many free Korean courses taught by volunteers at a local church. This is way better than going to a Korean university (and paying over $1,000 per term) which claims its courses are accredited, but they actually aren't. Remember, in the ROK, Korean language courses are not recognized by the Ministry of Education as real university-level credit despite what your university might say, so since neither place is accredited, both types of courses are essentially the same. Just go for the free ones that don't lie to you.

Buy used textbooks for your private students at the used book store next to the Lexus dealer at Noksapyeong station. There's absolutely no reason why the student needs a shiny new textbook that costs three times as much. For all the student knows, it's worn because you used it with a previous student. They have many good textbooks available for 6,000 or 7,000 won each, and having a textbook (instead of trying to make up the lessons off the top of your head) is much more efficient and less time-consuming. Buying a textbook instead of making up your lessons may sound like it costs more money, but consider that it saves you time to take on more private lessons.

When ordering things from the United States, if the UPS bill seems insane, ask them if they can ship by USPS Airmail instead. On things like textbooks, this can save you a TON of money.

Instead of joining a gym, get a pedometer to measure your walking (chances are you're already walking several miles a day if you're doing private lessons) and make use of exercise equipment in your building (my goshiwon has a weight set on the roof) and do some of your walking in mountains, where there are more types of exercise devices. I think you could get a full-body workout for free this way, instead of paying 70,000 won a month to some gym, and you'd be getting a lot more fresh air and flexibility in terms of time (some gyms are closed on Sunday, if you can believe that).

If you have a student ID card of any type (and I don't care where it's from), flash it whenever there's something expensive. I continually get my boat tickets to Japan much cheaper by doing that.

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

The Lucky 13 Laws to $aving money in Korea!

1. Don't shower at home, period. You will be paying for gas and water. Who needs that? Lakes and rivers are fine (if you live out of Seoul). See #8 for other options.

2. Eat only when absolutely starving. It is the normal human condition, Africans do it all the time. You can skip breakfast, eat lunch around 2ish. Have a light meal before going to bed. Rice rice rice!

3. Only buy bulk cabbage, bulk rice, and eggs for protein. Vegetables and fruits are allowed only if in season and ultra-cheap. Freeze what you can if it is about to go bad. Don't throw away peels, keep em, freeze em, then eat them when times are tough! Learn how to make kimchi. Enjoy cheap meat, perhaps SPAM, whenever you're lucky. Steal water from your school's filter or drink tap water (even if it makes you sick!)

4. Shut down internet. Waste of 50,000 per month. Use your school computer or "use" your friends for their computer (email checking, etc.) Shut down the cellphone. You can get people to email you only. Then meet them at a pre-arranged date only. Don't get cable obviously, and if you need to watch TV, stand outside a window of a restaurant and look in.

5. Friends... get rid of them ASAP! They'll want you to pay for meals, etc. Only make friends with those you can "use." For example, start making friends with rich people who will buy you meals! Exchange English for food. And then, start educating yourself: ie. rubbing shoulders with poor people (cardboard collectors) and watch them carefully...

6. Start collecting cardboard in your free time. Perhaps on your subway trip, walk back and forth looking for used newspapers. You can save some good money by saving it! Purchase a good rickshaw for the cardboard (they're cheap! and easily paid off quickly with the cardboard!). Don't forget bottles and used / broken electronics. Perhaps you can clean up old electronics and try to pawn them off on some sucker!

7. Do tons of privates. Only charge 60,000 per hour. Lie that you graduated Harvard, but cannot find your degree to prove it. Ask the parents mothers if they can provide you food and, perhaps, a shower... just say your bathroom is being renovated.

8. Walk/Jog to work. Even if it is a few kilometers, you can save money by not taking the subway or bus. Plus, you save money by NOT joining a fitness club or buying a bike!

9. If you're sick or hurt yourself, heal the natural way! No doctors! Wait it out weakling! You can save about 4,000 won this way.

10. Create a fake charity, construct a kleenex box, wear a white shirt and tie, stand around populated places in hopes that people will give you money! Don't say anything, just stand there, bring a cup of water for fake tears. You can do this in your free time every night in areas where people drink (more easily duped) plus you aren't going out to "have fun" but merely work.

11. Ditch your girlfriend or get one who pays for you all the time. Try looking for the daughter of a rich Samsung businessman. Convince her to give you money for "investments" saying you'll pay her back, then say you lost it all in stocks and that you're sorry! Works best if you have multiple girlfriends like this... You can also pimp yourself out to local Adjumas who've always wondered what it's like to be with a westerner... for that... charge 200,000 per "sensual visit" (the going rate).

12. Bust open those used clothing bins (big blue bins in alleyways) where people put in their old clothes. Never pay for clothing! Or soap! Only handwash them in rivers (soap is expensive, dont bother) or in your student's shower.

13. Why go out and buy sheets when you can wrap yourself warm at night with used clothing? Make a big bed of clothes, like a pile of hay, and sleep in it. Don't bother with heating your place, your body heat (and lying next to your fridge which gets hot on the outside) will be enough!

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Get a NEW job that pays more!!!! Laughing

SaveTheWhales · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Busan

At the markets, look for rotten fruits/vegetables and ask the ajummas if you can have them for half price. Cut off the rotten bits at home and use them to make a fruit and veg stew.

Don't buy books, read other people's. Look over their shoulder on the subway.

Put newspaper under your shirt in the winter, it's warm!

Steal toilet paper and soap from public toilets. You can squeeze liquid soap into an empty soda bottle.

Wait for end of season sales. But when the end of the season arrives, don't buy anything. Just start waiting for the end of the next season.

Use hair as dental floss

Collect bits of erasers and lost pencils from your students. Compose 'stationery sets' out of them and sell them to your students during breaktimes. Bully them into buying.

Don't put food in your cupboards, you'll just end up eating it. Instead just draw some pictures of food and put them in there to make it look nice. Turn the fridge off and do the same. Don't buy the pictures though, draw them yourself.

Instead of getting drunk, try this. Hold your breath, close your eyes and spin around in circles faster and faster until you fall over. Get up again and keep doing it.
Stop if you get a migraine.