Korean Job Discussion Forums

[martinpil]

Really speaking the best paid jobs are in the Middle East, not Korea. Japan doesn't seem bad at the moment coz of the strong Yen. When I was there 10 years ago, it was 190 yen to the pound and I earned a basic 250k a month. Then, up to last year, the Yen was about 220 to the pound which made it hardly worth getting out of bed for 250k a month ( i wasnt there though). Now, it's about 135 yen to the pound, so it is extremely GOOD money.

But looking at the Won, you have to ask yourself why anyone would want to work for 2.5m won a month...That's about �1300 or $2000. Now 250,000 japanese yen is currently �1900 or $2750 a month. This makes the two countries about the same WORTHWHILENESS, if theres such a word, to live in at the moment for EFL teachers (coz japan u have 2 pay ur own flat)

But which country leaves more in your pocket if you are an average joe/jo who doesn't splash out overly so?

[BS.Dos.]

*edit*

Wrong post.

[oskinny1]

I am working in Japan now. After rent and taxes I make about 190,000 yen a month. I can save about 100,000 of that. When I was in Korea (before the meltdown of the won) I was saving 1.5 million.

Sad thing is that salaries in both countries haven't changed at all in the 10 years you spoke of.

[quilter]

I think a big thing to consider is private classes. In Japan you can make a lot of money teaching privates with little or no consequences. I more than doubled my salary doing them. Here in Korea I wouldn't risk it, although lots of people do them. I was in Japan for 8 years, and it took me about a year really get up and running with the privates.

[chris_J2]

Don't forget to deduct a return airfare to/from your home country, if considering Japan. Tax rates in Japan were 11%, plus local prefecture taxes, last time I looked. In Korea, the top tax rate for foreign ESL teachers is 3%.

[Donghae]

The minimum salary when you were in Japan, OP, was 250,000yen. But that minimum no longer exists and many jobs now offer significantly less. And whereas in Korea you'd probably get free accommodation with the job, in Japan you almost certainly will not and will therefore have to subtract whatever you're paying in rent to compare with a monthly salary in Korea. Also, as mentioned above, there's the airfare to pay yourself for many Japanese jobs and you don't get the extra month's salary at the end of your 1 year contract that you do in Korea.

I know people recently arrived in Japan who are getting around 230,000yen a month and pay 60,000yen in rent. Of course, there are all the utility bills to pay as well your usual living expenses. One guy I know who's on that salary tells me that if he tries REALLY hard he can just about save 70,000yen a month, but that in some months he has to draw on his money back in England (not a good option at present rates) because he's run out of money before payday. I think that scenario is easily avoidable with a bit of common sense, but at the same time it takes no more than a little reckless spending to end up skint before payday for some people.

I don't really agree that you're necessarily significantly better off for private lessons in Japan. Yes, you can safely do privates whereas in Korea you're not supposed to do them on an E2 visa and can be deported if caught. However, even if you have enough energy to do them in what little free time you may get, they don't pay a lot these days. It's not uncommon for teachers in Japan to be offering private lessons for as little as Y1000 an hour. Of course, you CAN do better than that but as the previous poster said, it takes quite a while to be able to build up a network of private students who will both pay well and not mess you about. It was difficult to do this anyway, and these days even more so.

On the other hand, whilst salaries in Japan are the same or less than when the OP was last there, the same is true of prices of everyday things. Korea has become a lot more expensive over the last 10 years, whereas Japan hasn't changed so much.

Another thing, OP - are you going to be sending money back to the UK every month? Exchange rates don't mean anything unless you're actually changing money. However exciting it is for some Brits in Japan now to calculate the equivalent of their salary in pounds comapred to a year ago, it's utterly meaningless unless you're sending money back....and have actually saved money to send back in the first place.

[oskinny1]

[martinpil]

why do you think Japan is much better oskinny? I haven't ever been there. Some guys said don't ten years ago, because korean guys don't like it if you take a girl out and other problems. I liked Japan, everyone was so nice, the girls hot, it was just the expense of the place. I also had to draw out money from my credit card coz I was always spending money on entertainment.

If I went back now though, I think I would just come home and sit ina local cafebar/restaurant bar for the evening instead of trekking into Roppongi for example. I hope the japanese girls are still generous with their wallets like they used to be as well I dont know how a poster here can save 100K yen though, that sounds unrealistic. I know how much the rents are (50-80k) so that leaves you with about 120K on a basic salary of 250. Of course with the privates, you can maybe top that up. It's a sad fact that EFL teaching is only on a par with Bar staff salaries in Japan. Bar staff also get 250K. They are actually the lowest paid jobs in Japan. But unless clients will pay more for lessons, it always will be 250 a month. Anyway, so it seems like Korea is the best option due to free accommodation and only 3% tax. I would have to send money home yes, so I have to weigh it all up.

[Donghae]

[egrog1717]

Airfare, an apartment and a month's severance... That was all it took to get me to choose Korea over Japan
(I'm not a huge stickler for culture, and had very little cash coming over here, so it was an easy choice...)

[martinpil]

Egrog

How much did you take with you at first? Did u already have a job to go to? When you say free accommodation do you mean that literally, like u just take the keys from your boss or boss's estate agent and move straight in without payin so much as $1?

[Ukon]

[martinpil]

I wonder what the food is like. I am not too smitten on japanese food, but I used to get by. I believe they eat dog in korea.....scary huh? I hope the hamburgers at Mcdonalds are really beef....(0_0)
o

[Xuanzang]

[egrog1717]