Korean Job Discussion Forums

[vonjunk]

Is there anyone on the boards with a family who can advise me about bringing a family to Korea?
I am looking into securing a university position, but how much would a family consisting of me, my wife and young son (16 months) cost? Is it affordable? What kind of salary would make living in Korea sensible?

Are there any other advantages or disadvantages I might want to consider?

Thanks very much for any help or advise given.

[maingman]

http://teachkoreanz.com/

planetesl.com

[redeye]

My spouse and I live here with our son who is close to the age of yours.

I suppose it depends on your standard of living. We're on one income, and we're trying to pay a load of bills back in the US. That means most months are a little tight. I'd say half of our salary (2.3) goes toward US bills each month; the other half we live off of.
We don't eat out a lot, but we're not paupers. We don't buy a lot of new stuff, but we're doing ok. If the exchange rate were better right now, we'd be living a little easier.

That being said, if we didn't have all those bills to pay back home, we'd be living quite easily and well here. The one salary would be more than enough to both provide for us, give us some extras, and allow us a bit of travel.

However, if you're a big spender--have to have the living room wall-sized flat screen, have to have all the name brand latest fashions, drink like a fish on the weekend, and eat out Western food every chance you get, well, then you might find things a little tight for a family of three.

That said, we love being here--in general we're doing better than we would back home and working less hours. My spouse has more time at home, and it's fun being a family in a foreign country.

Tip: do some good research on baby stuff before coming. Clothes for tots can be more expensive here as well as some baby accessories (sippy cups, bottles, etc.). Diapers, formula are about the same.

[keetrainchild]

Last year, my wife, son, and I lived in Korea together in a small apartment. My salary was basically a starting salary; it was not as high as redeye's. We lived quite comfortably, and after we paid off the airfare for my wife and son, we paid off our car loan. After that, we just saved money each month -- literally hundreds of dollars. Even after buying airplane tickets home, we had saved a good deal of money. This includes the fiasco in which my employer basically cheated me out of my severance pay.

That, then, is the financial aspect. Now for some other questions: oes your wife feel comfortable going to Korea? Do you think that she would be able to find good friends there? Are you going to have a car, or is she going to need to carry your child everywhere? Can you find a babysitter? From my experience, it wasn't as easy to find babysitters in Korea as it was in the U.S.A. I often had to go and buy groceries because my wife had trouble bringing them home by herself.

However, it was a good experience, overall. Be open with your employer, naturally; make sure that they know that you are bringing your whole family with you. Also, as redeye said, don't expect to live a luxurious life, unless maybe you're going to earn 3 million won or more per month.

[vonjunk]

Very useful information and I'm happy to hear teaching in Korea can be affordable, leave more time for family and allow us to pay off a small school loan left I have remaining.
Thanks gents!

[yingwenlaoshi]

I don't understand why people bring their kids here. To breathe in all the great pollution?

[vonjunk]

When you have a family of your own, we'll chat.