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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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EzeWong
Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with mostly what others have said,
I'll just add, Korea's an adventure. I think while people are young and have the ability, they should go out and see the world even it's for dimes and nickels.
On the advice of my very wise uncle, the best times of your life are when you're remembering back to the time you went to a foreign country for 1 year and experinced "That CRAZY thing that happened to you in ___" You don't really remince about your 9-5 job putting quality standards in a TPS report for a software company...
I think a lot of us forget this is the real reason we came to Korea. Sure the money's bad but you can't really put a price on happiness or new experience. |
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jcmarsha
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: Newcomers: why do you want to work in Korea for $9 / hou |
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| wayfarer wrote: |
There's pension and severance too but a great many of you will never see that money, even if you don't go mad and leave before finishing your twelve-month stretch.
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what makes you think we won't see that money? |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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I think you've also got to take into account the lower cost of living and lower taxes. If you're making $9 an hour in the US, you'll see less of that in your net earnings than you will in Korea. The costs of eating out at restaurants, catching cabs, sporting events, etc are all pretty low here to be honest.
Whilst it isn't necessarily the best time to come here if you are American and need to send large amounts of money home on a regular basis, for people from other countries (particularly New Zealand and South Africa at the moment) it is still worth it.
Also, 2 million a month tends to be the base salary for Public Schools. And these jobs tend to offer you extra classes that bump your pay up to around 2.3mil a month (excluding housing). Those newbies looking for work with a hagwon should have no difficulty finding 2.2mil or even 2.3mil per month.
As has also been mentioned...you can't look at everything in terms of financial reward, and the lifestyle afforded to us by (some of) these jobs is certainly something that adds value to them. |
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marlow
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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| China's a great experience, too. If a person doesn't care about money wouldn't it be a better choice? Better for language and food and places to go. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject: |
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| sarbonn wrote: |
| I'm thinking that $9.37 and hour has to sound a lot better than $0 an hour if they're having trouble finding a job. And your post assumes the won will NEVER get better. Before I came here, it was great. Now it sucks. That tells me that it fluctuates, which means that it's quite possible it might be good again. It's not like Korea is doing worse than the rest of the world. The rest of the world is doing as crappy as is Korea, so the fluctuation can happen or it may not happen. But that person taking the job at $9.37 an hour may find himself or herself making $13 an hour a few months from now. Or making $2 an hour. It's really hard to tell, and no two economists will agree one way or the other. |
When did you come on board? The won has been going down and down for many, many months. It's been going down for over one year.
I remember when it used to be 932-938 won to a US dollar.
Anyway, I understand why some veterans would be questioning the wisdom of newbies coming here. However, the economy in the US is horrible, and there aren't tons of newbies coming, even then.
You don't have to pay for rent which can cost you 500 bucks or 700 bucks in some places. You don't have car repairs and what have you. |
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MUOhio82
Joined: 25 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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| bogey666 wrote: |
| MUOhio82 wrote: |
Well I can't speak for the men, but I know why the women come
1. The absolutely beauty of the Korean men
2. The lush variety of shopping. The diverse sizes and the ability to find ANYTHING.
3. The great personal hygiene products, like tampons and Midol
Seriously though, who knows. Maybe lots of new teachers are blind and dead and they can't see and hear about the exchange rate. Or some recruiter told them Korea was a beautiful and harmonious experience with a culture so different from out own. Maybe they think they're going to get off the plane and be greeted by Koreans in Hanbok with steaming bowls of Kimchi....... I mean, that's what MY recruiter told me, so imagine my shock... |
errr...
ummm..
with all due respect.
(because I'm partial to full figured Amazons 
you believed what your RECRUITER told you?
I double and triple checked everything mine told me, because they are essentially salespeople and I trust those as far as I can throw them (in some cases, that might be pretty far LOL )
why didn't you use this forum (and others Web resources) to do your own research? |
Actually, as part Amazonian myself, that entire post was sort of a JOKE. I spent about 4 months prior to coming here researching my brains out, and was fully prepared when I got here. I didn't believe what anyone told me, and I was still a little shocked when I got here even though I came with a years supply of tampons...
Seriously, can a person not JOKE anymore?! |
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English Matt
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:30 pm Post subject: Re: Newcomers: why do you want to work in Korea for $9 / hou |
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| jcmarsha wrote: |
| wayfarer wrote: |
There's pension and severance too but a great many of you will never see that money, even if you don't go mad and leave before finishing your twelve-month stretch.
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what makes you think we won't see that money? |
I think he's referring to those hagwon owners who try and screw their employees out of their severance and pension. There're a lot of stories on Dave's about hagwon owners who don't even pay into the pension plans, and I've certainly met a few teachers here who this is happening to. Also, though rarer it is certainly still common for hagwon owners to withold the severance pay for a variety of reasons. |
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Mr-Dokdo
Joined: 16 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject: Re: Newcomers: why do you want to work in Korea for $9 / hou |
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| wayfarer wrote: |
post is more relevant to North Americans, but:
average salary 2 mil + free housing = about 2.3 million won
2.3 at current exchange rate = 1500 USD
1,500 USD into about 160 hours at your school every month = $9.37 dollars per hour
There's pension and severance too but a great many of you will never see that money, even if you don't go mad and leave before finishing your twelve-month stretch.
My question is more sincere than it might seem- I'm just wondering, what in particular attracts you to Korea, specifically? |
$9 per hour beats $0 per hour. To that add good food, a booze-friendly culture, and plenty of p**sy. |
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sarbonn
Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Location: Michigan
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