Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EzeWong]

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.

[jcmarsha]

[English Matt]

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.

[marlow]

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.

[Adventurer]

[MUOhio82]

[English Matt]

[Mr-Dokdo]

[sarbonn]

[xingyiman]

[littlelisa]

I expect with my salary that I will save a good deal over 1mil won a month. My salary (of the job I finally signed for) is more than your guess of 2.0, my housing probably would cost more than your guess of .3mil It definitely would be more than that in Montreal if I stayed here.

I have a job here and I'm saving money. I want to go back to Seoul because I want to go back to Seoul. Money has nothing to do with it.

I can live comforably, I'll be where I want to be, I'll be doing work I love doing. Why does it seem so crazy?

I also expect that eventually the won will improve. I'm not in a rush. As long as I'm happy, that's the most important thing.

[asams]

here's my rationale for going to korea (I'll be leaving in about 2 weeks):

I've never been out of the US, and I really haven't done much travelling inside the US. I just graduate college and never got the opportunity to study abroad. I see this as an opportunity to explore a different country and culture, while also not being a complete bum and getting paid while doing so.

Second, I've come to realize that, in North Carolina, most of the job openings are in insurance sales (something I have no desire to do, especially with the economy the way it is). I realize I have to start somewhere, but after reading this website, I've come to find that many of you feel that you are entitled to something.

[xingyiman]

[bogey666]

[JongnoGuru]

Why do they still come? Because 9 United States Of America Dollars goes a long way in Korea. Well, it would if we lived in the 1970s, I betcha.


Oh, and these "I'm here for the lifestyle" responses are darn cute.