Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sesyeux]

so, finally!
it has seemed to take forever but i fly tomorrow to seoul to start at a school in mokdong, seoul.
takes 26 hours what with the layover and time differences, awesome!

i was just wondering a couple of things:

1. thinking of bringing �500 to change into won at the airport as from what i've read it seems to be a decent exchange rate - enough? i can get more from an atm if needed, but i would be interested to know recent start-up costs in seoul
2. i'm bringing a netbook and it has the 110-220v capacity. i guess this is a main priority and i'll need to buy the korean plug in the first few days as i'd like to tell everyone i'm home and not adrift in the sea or something. is there somewhere particular i need to go?


pretty nervous. moving 7000 miles from home not knowing anyone etc. still i've packed my years worth of deodorant and vitamins [ha] so i should be okay


edit: in before someone says don't forget to bring an open mind / thick skin / rucksack to wear around the city

[PatrickGHBusan]

Good luck and happy landing.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

[Hotpants]

About changing money - changing GBP to Won at the mo is HORRIFIC.

About changing money at the airport - only change enough to get you through the first day. The airport rate last week was about 1500 to 1 GBP. If you go to a bank in the city, you will get over 1600. Maybe not much difference, but when you change 500GBP, it all adds up. I would try and wait to see if the exchange rate picks up before you change all your money.

If you are getting accommodation provided, 500GBP will be more than enough for a month - although just make sure you have enough funds or a return ticket to get home if you end up getting scammed with your paycheck, for example. Hopefully that won't happen, but better to be safe than sorry.

Good luck.

[PigeonFart]

I'd bring more money just to be on the safe side. Double it up because you never know how long it will take before you get paid, or what kind of expenses you will have.

Don't live like a pauper for the first month. Get out there on the town every weekend and meet new people. You'll need to do that even if you're quite introverted, because arriving in such a different country makes you feel kind of isolated. So you'll need extra money for transport to the pubs and nightclubs, drink and food. I'd have a �1,000 GBP (1.6 KRW) just to be sure.

p.s. Mokdong is a great location. Only 5,000 won taxi to Hongdae (the nightlife area). Enjoy.

[Troglodyte]

If you don't get the plug at the airport, you can pick it up at any electronics or almost any home appliances store. Just bring the cable with you to a store and show it to a salesman. Point to the North American prongs on the end and try to mime that you can't plug it in. They'll probably get the idea. Just make sure that all they sell you is a simple adapter and not a voltage converter.

Just so that you know (if you happen to read this before leaving), Incheon has free wifi in the arrivals area. The place where people come to wait for people arriving. If you get here at night and aren't going to the school first (where you can check your email on a school computer) then you might want to do a quick check before leaving the airport. If you'll be living in an apartment building, there's a good chance that you can pick up at least one unsecured wifi signal from a neighbor until internet gets installed/activated in your apartment.

You can easily live off of 500 USD for a month. Just find the nearest Homeplus supermarket. Eat rice and ramen for a month until you get a chance to try out other foods and find out what you like and don't like.

Most cities have at least one foreigner bar (cities, not towns). Otherwise, just ask on an ELT forum to find out who's in your city. If you're teaching adults or university students, you'll probably get invited to hang out with them sometimes. If you really don't meet many locals you can find a language exchange partner who will teach you about Korean life, where to find stuff in your city and some Korean language skills. I wouldn't recommend hanging out too much with your co-workers. People gossip and some people will bring up something stupid that you do when you least expect it. (Remember that time with your friends when you were completely wasted and puked on the downtown sidewalk? If you boss knows, 4 months down the road he/she might say that you ruined the image of the school and so they want to fire you.) Best to keep your private life and work life separate.

[pikachun1]

I think more money is necessary. If you think about buying stuff for the place wherein you will live, then you will probably blow over a hundred dollars just like that.

[ttompatz]

Hey, guys.....

He said GBP 500 + an ATM card to access his account from home.

500 quid (about 875k won) is fine for CASH to get you started. The exchange rate is not great at the moment so I wouldn't bring much more as long as you have access to your money from home if you need it.

The rate at the Incheon airport is no worse than the city banks on the CASH exchange rate.
Don't buy your won outside of Korea.
Do bring crisp new bills.

Bring or buy a plug adapter with you. It can be DIFFICULT to find UK-> Korean plug adapters here. A nice universal one would be a good idea.

You can get them at most international airports (even though they cost dearly) if you don't have time to grab one before you leave. the plugs here are 2 round, parallel pins.

.

[mimi_intheworld]

[ttompatz]

[ticktocktocktick]

You can buy the plug adapters in poundland or any other cheapo shop. They're the same ones you'd take to Spain. In the airport they'd about 8quid. In poundland, guess how much!