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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Kurtz
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Location: ples bilong me
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 Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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How to save? stop blowing bulk money on your excessive overseas travel. Just because you're in Asia doesn't give you the right to think you're international and deserve that trip to Thailand with your one week off.
Don't buy brand name stuff, eat local food, drink local beer and don't date women without a job and you'll find saving is easy here. Don't live beyond your means. We are at the bottom of the professional expat ladder so spend accordingly. |
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kiwiduncan
Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Location: New Zealand
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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| superacidjax wrote: |
Real simple. It's called protectionism. The tariffs and quotas imposed artificially raise prices due to Korea's attempt at protecting domestic industries. For instance rice is tariffed at around 300%. That means that domestic rice producers are that much more inefficient than world rice production.
300%. That's just on rice. One argument states that the tariffs are good because they "protect jobs." Wrong. They protect rice farmers' jobs at the expense of the rest of the country. How many jobs are lost from goods NOT purchased because of the 300% more spent on rice by the average family? That extra money could be spent purchasing other goods and services, thus driving the economy rather than weighing it down.
That's just rice. Amplify that effect by nearly every product produced here (excepting LCD TVs and a few other select products in which the Koreans have a competitive advantage.) The tariff and quota excesses here are what make the prices so high.
I've written about this extensively over the years on Daves, so I won't rehash the economics lesson now. But in a nutshell, the loud far left wants to burn buildings anytime trade liberalization is proposed (FTA, US beef, rice, etc.) Does anyone think the beef protests were about safety? Wrong.. they were about protecting overpriced Korean beef. The average Korean doesn't "get" it because they don't understand the opportunity costs of effectively subsidizing specific industries.
The rice farmers can be seen and heard, but the countless other industries being harmed cannot be seen or heard because there is no visible "victim" for those industries being harmed because Koreans spend too much for rice. It isn't like the hair salon can say that rice tariffs are harming them because they don't "see" the sales not happening as a result of ultra-high rice prices.
Take rice and multiply it by every other industry in Korea and that is why prices are so high (even for domestic products.)
There's no reason an iPod Touch 32GB should cost about $370 in the US and $530 in Korea. None at all.. the reason: tariffs. It doesn't have anything to do with shipping or anything (they are drop-shipped from China for both Korea and the US.) That is a $160 price difference.. which is effectively a government subsidy for the Korean iPod clones.. which are of inferior quality compared to the iPod.
The iPhone's non-existence in Korea is another example of bad government policy at work. In "protecting" local makers, they are actually retarding innovation and ultimately the consumers are the ones that lose out (even though they don't even realize it.)
For Korea to not be 12th place (or lower) in the world economy, they need to start adhering to their WTO agreements.. otherwise, this country will slide into backwater status much quickly than they emerged as manufacturing powerhouses. |
One good thing about subsidizing the rice farmers is that it at least keeps that farmland being used for rice production (and possible other food production too). Without that support we'd see even more of Korea's farmland being sold off and turned into golf courses, industrial complexes, housing developments and so on.
It would be interesting to see what effect those farming subsidies have in terms of the environment though. The naive and idealistic part of me thinks perhaps it maintains a farming economy of small-scale farms where the farmers can live close to their paddies and feel a connection to their land. Perhaps the subsidies might even allow farmers to allow some of their land to lie fallow for years at a time - providing good habitat for wildlife and reducing irrigation and fertilizer requirements. More realistically though, I think the subsidies might support a system where the paddies are over-used, over watered and over fertilized (ever seen the amount of chemical fertilzer bags blowing around on Korean farms? it's quite disturbing).
And as for the beef protesters, what a bunch of (fill-in-the-gap)s. If the Korean green movement was genuinely concerned about animal welfare, human health and environmental sustainabilty they'd be pointing out to the Korean public the drawbacks of pretty much all meat consumption (not that I'm a vegetarian myself, but I try to eat meat in moderation). At the time of the protests however, I very seldom heard of Korean activists pointing out the root of the problem - the modern world's over-consumption of meat. |
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michaelambling
Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Location: Paradise
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 4:37 pm Post subject: Re: The best way to save money in Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
| Johnny_Bravo wrote: |
| food and products are typically double, sometimes TRIPLE their cost back in the US. |
Some things are more expensive, but come on, not 2-3x.
Just check the prices for Big Macs, which of course is the international standard for food prices  :
http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml
The U.S. is $3.57, Canada $3.65, Britan is $3.66, New Zealand $3.07, Europe is $4.71, and Korea is $2.52.
Plus, I could have that cheap Korean Big Mac delivered to my apartment 24 hours a day for 600 won. You can't beat that with a stick.
Really I get the sense that there are some CHEAP NETs that like to complain about everything. Two days ago I went to an American steakhouse where we ordered a $250 appetizer.  Now that was what I'd consider expensive. Yet EVERY table at that large 2 story restaurant was filled and there were about 20 people waiting to get in. My point is, you pay what you are comfortable paying. No one is forcing a gun to your head, so don't complain about it. |
To just about everyone in this thread except madoka and Kimbop, wtf are you smoking? I don't even bother looking at my food bills in this country, 'cause I never spend more than 100,000 won for a week's groceries, and I eat WELL.
E-mart is cheap. Local grocers are cheaper. Bongo trucks are laughably cheap. |
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Johnny_Bravo
Joined: 27 May 2009
Location: R.O.K.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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the issue isn't whether you can save and save well here. With the low taxes and appt provided, it's hard not to save, unless one's a buffoon.
That doesn't change the fact that WHEN I am forced to buy anything here, I chafe and recoil at the prices asked for/charged.
I should've changed the title of thread to how to save a lot MORE in Korea.
answer ? don't buy anything in Korea.
p.s. digsy the clothes don't fit me here, since I lift, and I don't see any clothes that I really want to wear either |
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Theme
Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Kimbop wrote: |
| Bunch of cheapskate esl kiddy-babysitters earning $22,000 a year! |
Well said. While having more disposable income than any other time in their life, many EFL ers complain about "high" prices, buy nothing for their apartments, and often mooch off locals and other teachers alike.
I had a "friend" once, who would call and hang up after 2 or three rings. I had a pre-paid phone and cheepskate had a fancy dancy phone on a regular billing. Obviously, he was trying to not pay for the call. His other trick was to never pay for the meal. Out of 6 times that we ate together , he paid once fully and one time he "slipped me" 2,000 won of a 11,000 bill. |
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Zutronius
Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Location: Suncheon
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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On a 2.5 million Won salary it's pretty easy to save at least 1.7 W a month and still have fun.
Common sense with money. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd love to see a full list of the tariffs. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| superacidjax wrote: |
| There's no reason an iPod Touch 32GB should cost about $370 in the US and $530 in Korea. None at all.. the reason: tariffs. |
Go cry to the Germans that their ipod touch is also $530. Or the Spanish. Or the Italians. Or the French or the Danish where it's even more expensive than Korea.
That's four countries in the Top Ten that have prices like Korea or even higher. Go tell them that their economies are all messed up because of tariffs. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:29 pm Post subject: Re: The best way to save money in Korea |
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| dporter wrote: |
The amount an item costs is meaningless. You need a denominator.
A typical Korean worker needs to work how many hours to buy a Big Mac?
You compare that to a typical American worker and you have some sense of whether it is more or less expensive. |
Your post would have some meaning if we were talking about relative buying power. However, the OP is griping solely about cost compared to his home country. |
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Johnny_Bravo
Joined: 27 May 2009
Location: R.O.K.
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: Re: The best way to save money in Korea |
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| madoka wrote: |
| dporter wrote: |
The amount an item costs is meaningless. You need a denominator.
A typical Korean worker needs to work how many hours to buy a Big Mac?
You compare that to a typical American worker and you have some sense of whether it is more or less expensive. |
Your post would have some meaning if we were talking about relative buying power. However, the OP is griping solely about cost compared to his home country. |
Had I chosen to gripe about relative earning power, then the gripe would be that much more ferocious.
and funnier still given your German example, where once again, they earn more, and their currency is a global currency with value, UNLIKE the Korean won.
Don't get me wrong. I really don't care that much. I'm not a consumerist and I don't plan on spending my life here. I will easily save what I need to save, even if it takes me slightly longer than the original planning dictated.
This isn't really about me, or the FT's here. With the taxes and appts paid for, we can save and save easily.
The real point, and the reason I brought my Korean landlord into it is that it is the Korean consumers who get screwed on a daily basis, and remarkably don't seem to get that upset about it. Clearly the fact they know of little outside of Korea makes them think that's how things "should be".
My Korean landlord btw is now beginning to regret coming back here. He had to renounce his American citizenship in order to buy land in Korea and he came back to care for the graves of his ancestors, but he's sick and tired of getting gouged on products on a daily basis.
He said in a couple of years he may go back to the US. |
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Mr. Pink
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: China
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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Perhaps it is 2-3x more expensive to Americans, but to this Canadian, I just can't see it.
In Canada the price of food has been climbing over the past 6 months. While food isn't taxed, everything else is. Do you like to drink? You pay double in Canada (sometimes 3x more) for booze than you would in the States due to tax.
The cost of living in Canada is way higher:
Cable bill is 2-3x what I paid in Korea
Internet bill is 2x more and I get capped on speeds. I had faster speeds in Korea 10 years ago...
Phone Bill is 10x what it is in Korea
Cell Phone bill is roughly the same, but the cost is way higher if you text or call people.
Entertainment is way more here. Seeing a movie is 2x more.
Eating out is WAY more here. If I eat fast food I spend over $10. In Korea I could always eat for less than 10,000. Hell 10,000 would be a good dinner!
When you buy stuff in my province there is 8% tax plus 5% GST...so 13% tax. It adds up.
Rent is more expensive.
Electricity is about the same
Natural Gas is more expensive
Water sucks, you still have to buy it or have a purifier on your home line.
Etc etc.
On $22,000/yr in Canada you would be poor. In Korea you live well. |
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crossmr
Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Mr. Pink wrote: |
The cost of living in Canada is way higher:
Cable bill is 2-3x what I paid in Korea
Internet bill is 2x more and I get capped on speeds. I had faster speeds in Korea 10 years ago...
Phone Bill is 10x what it is in Korea
Cell Phone bill is roughly the same, but the cost is way higher if you text or call people.
Entertainment is way more here. Seeing a movie is 2x more.
Eating out is WAY more here. If I eat fast food I spend over $10. In Korea I could always eat for less than 10,000. Hell 10,000 would be a good dinner!
When you buy stuff in my province there is 8% tax plus 5% GST...so 13% tax. It adds up.
Rent is more expensive.
Electricity is about the same
Natural Gas is more expensive
Water sucks, you still have to buy it or have a purifier on your home line.
Etc etc.
On $22,000/yr in Canada you would be poor. In Korea you live well. |
Spot on. The cost of living is just ridiculous in Canada.
Internet - 37,000W @ 100 Mbps vs $40 at 3 Mbps
Cellphone - 50,000W with bells and whistles and a great phone vs $50 for a crappy phone and no extras
restaurants - decent food for around 5000-7000W vs any good food starting at around $15-$20 for most restaurants.
apartments 300,000W for an apartment in a well connected area vs $1100 for an apartment in a well connected area.
Dental care price is a joke in Canada compared to here. A thread a couple days ago everyone getting crowns for 300,000-400,000W. In Canada I paid $2100, 1.5 years ago
I bought some shorts a month ago that given comparable quality and branding in Canada would have cost about the same. 45,000W vs probably about $40.
Anyone who isn't drinking away their money and spending it at western restaurants all the time should have no problem seeing how much cheaper a lot of stuff is here.
Last edited by crossmr on Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:25 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Danofthepeople
Joined: 05 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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I have to agree that as FTs we are given the opportunity to save a lot more tan we can in our home countries. Im from the UK - and have earned higher wages back home but have had so little to show for my hard days work.
In the UK you are looking at a 21% income tax, VAT on all purchases is at 15% of the price. On top of that Rents and Utility bills are double that in korea - at least. Cell phone costs are twice as high as Korea. And then you have a council tax to pay which sits at around 200pounds a month - depending on if you live in a shit hole or a decent place.
In korea I can save around 500pounds (around1000USD) dollars a month - easily. I do agree that electronic appliances are extortionate here - it can be reconciled that the cost of living in Korea (especially when rents and taxes are paid for) is much lower than back home.
On a similar wage in the UK I would be struggling to afford food by the last week of every month - especially if I had to commute anywhere.
I do live in Gmhae... which is hardly as pricy as seoul - so I can't really comment on the situation there.
Interesting Thread! |
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jahson4
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Location: Jamsil
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Simply put, it's not hard to save money here. If you're the ultimate penny pincher, sure, many things are a bit more costly; but, if you're so concerned about overpriced Korea, move back home and teach English. You'll certainly start griping then. |
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Danofthepeople
Joined: 05 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Word Up! |
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