Korean Job Discussion Forums

[oldfatfarang]

I can't comment on whether Korea is more expensive than Canada, but what I can say is that savings nowadays sure aint what they used to be. Low exchange rates, hyper-inflation for food/fruit/vegs etc - and reduced overtime/perks (for some), have all hurt the bank account.

However, you can still save a bunch here if you live simply.

And, our rent is not free - it's part of our salary packages.

[eamo]

[northway]

[jzrossef]

Here's one good link that neatly breaks down the typical cost of living in Korea. Posted in 2010... might be a good start for people clueless in these areas like me.

http://www.thekoreaguide.com/2010/02/25/cost-of-living-in-seoul-korea/

[eamo]

[nukeday]

i think every school i've worked at, hagwon and public, has paid a monthly rent...

think about it, otherwise they'd never let anyone take the housing allowance.

[eamo]

[Steelrails]

[southernman]

[Draz]

Whenever I try to figure out if it wouldn't be worth it to just go back to Canada, the calculations are roughly equal until I run into two major differences:

1. Rent

The thing with rent is I need to live in a big city. I need to. It's not optional. I need options that I can only get in the city. Big cities in Canada, even crappy ones like Saskatoon, have really high rent compared to Korea. Sure my apartment in Korea is lousy but I choose to live here. I can't choose to share a hovel in a big city in Canada for 200,000/month because they don't exist at that price.

2. Tax

Do I even need to say anything about tax? Everyone knows this. Half of what I'm saving now would get sucked up into the machine if I were living in Canada.

Korea sucks for the long term but if you're saving for a short term goal, it still stomps the pants off of "back home".

[jzrossef]

The reason why I can't really absorb the whole idea of housing benefit is that I am raised to believe that ownership is the much more cost-effective and worthwhile compared to rent in the long term. But I guess rent is the way to go to start (I guess you do get a luxury of opting the deposit... not necessarily saving money, but it saves a lot of trouble for sure) since you'd have to be flexible for startup jobs and maybe think about permanent place once you get a comfy and well-paid position... hopefully.

Utilities don�t seem all that bad for now. I don't plan on spending on TV cable, and being a cheap person with battle-harden patience against cold weather (I've survived Russian winter and I currently live in Canada where temperature can get less than -20C... though it's getting warmer here) I should be able to keep the gas to the minimum.

I hear internet's fast... so maybe that justifies the fact that the cost is similar to what I have here. (We have optical fibre my sheer luck... not sure if that's better than Korean network) Hopefully my Korean status can help me through complicated mobile phone with contract to get better deals in long term... I hear that cells are cheap, but I heard some rumors saying otherwise. I am very conservative and old-fashioned when it comes with cells (Kind of odd for Korean, I know) and I never really text or need data-plan service. So long as I can talk, have voice-message and the cell is aesthetically appealing... reasonably, of course... I should be content with it.

Back to the topic though... I think the total utilities (70-80k-ish for gas, electricity and water, 40k ish for cell and about 40k-ish on internet) that�s about 160k-ish. I'm assuming that it's a little cheaper than this in reality... but doesn't hurt to be prepared.

If 100k is more than average grocery spending (this coming from people who smoke and/or drink... I rarely drink few glasses of wine (I can cut this easily if I have to) but I am picky with food as I try to eat relatively higher-quality food that are healthier) so I'll just keep the number simple and call it 100k. Maybe when I have a bit of financial stability, I might invest in rural areas to cultivate agricultural commodities. (shrug)

I know Korean transportation is pretty good quality and cheap, but if there's no discounted monthly pass or anything like that... I might have to think about getting an electric bike or something. (If the work is close enough, simple bike would do the trick... the most cost-effective and energy efficient vehicle so far. $2 ticket doesn't seem all that bad, but it does add up in the long run. Plus, this is also assuming that the work is close to subway stations... which may not be the case. We have to add the bus tickets (if monthly pass that works for both bus and train exists like in N. America, than forget all this paranoia)... total it up, we're now talking about $4 for day's worth of trip. ($2 for subway trip going to work and returning home and same applies to bus ride... unless your place and work is relatively close to subway station, then lucky you) $4 x 30 = $120/month or $1440 a year. That's about the same in Canadian cities. I know that there's a monthly pass available for $90 (for adults) that allows unlimited access to bus and train for a month... times that by 12... that's $1080 per year.

At any rate, looks like transportation is about 120k. (Mental note to get a job close to the workplace... then I can easily get a bike. Maybe electric motorbike/scooter... let's just hope that they polish up the battery technology by then... they're expensive and life-span isn't all that impressive right now. They're getting better though.

So basic needs (utilities, food, and transportation) sums up to something like 380k. Add the occasional eat-out cost (most likely $5-7 lunch meal in shiek-dang rather than luxury restaurants and maybe occasional $10-14). I�m still unsure about entertainment aspect, but I�m gonna assume that social pressure will eventually get the better of me worst case scenario (I�m going to give a fierce resistance though) It sounds like 50k-ish for Friday nights� that�s like $200-ish per month. (I�m thinking biweekly night out and save half of it� I�ll think of BS excuse to avoid weekly night-outs�) so $100 per month-ish then.
I rent movies through torrent. That�s right, I said it. It�s my right as an internet pirate. Catch-me if you can.

And as for other costs that I can�t think of right now� oh I donno, let�s call it $250 just in case. (Ex. Seeing a doctor, medication, occasional Korean literature, and other unexpected costs)
So total all that up� that�s 480k in won or 730k max.

Typical 2 million figure salary (at least to start off) seems like it all comes down to about 2 million after tax, so deduct all the living cost from 2000k� that�s somewhere between 1270 � 1520k in won (15,240 - 18,240 annually) in terms of saving potential.

It�s hard to say for the long term� smart pension plan, increase of salary (I don�t plan on staying with 2 million figures forever� I hope), management position or something along with that line so that I don�t get unemployed when I reach 40s� and I should definitely look into part-time positions from time to time if I don�t procrastinate and catch-up with crazy Korean-work ethics.. plus the productivity and time-management. Maybe I�m overcomplicating the issue, but this sounds like a realistic financial reality I�d be facing.

I need to get a real job with hourly pay instead of getting the projects done and spend the rest of spare time writing about career plan 3 years in advance at work lol.

[allovertheplace]

[jvalmer]

jzrossef you are thinking way too much about this considering you still have over 3 full years left. Once you graduate come back and ask for advice.

BTW cable TV bill maxes out at like 10,000won, and internet tops out at around 35,000won with no monthly cap. Cheap compared to the $100+ bill for internet/TV in Calgary with a monthly cap of 100GB.

[southernman]

[quote="jzrossef]
(Kind of odd for Korean, I know)

Typical 2 million figure salary (at least to start off) seems like it all comes down to about 2 million after tax, so deduct all the living cost from 2000k� that�s somewhere between 1270 � 1520k in won (15,240 - 18,240 annually) in terms of saving potential.[/quote]

I think you've nailed it on the head, expense wise. Maybe even a tad pessimistic, which is always wise when working out a Budget

The thing is that you'll be on some sort of 'F' Visa, so the reality is that after the initial settling in process you'll be able to legally do privates and such. So I think with your attitude (and understanding of budgeting) you'll be able to save a bit more than the above figure.

Mayb, when things fall into place a lot more than the above

[edwardcatflap]

A lot of you are talking about ways to live cheaply here rather than the general cost of living, which is a red herring. For example when people talk about the UK being expensive they're often thinking about the time they went to London on holiday. In fact you can live very cheaply in the UK in most places outside London, I'd say a lot of things are cheaper than Korea.

E.g. You buy toiletries, household supplies and large packets of biscuits etc...at everything for a pound shop, you drink Mighty White Cider from supermarkets at 2 pounds for two litres or lager on special offer, there's always lager on special offer. People say eating out in Korea is cheap, so it is in the UK if you go to the local chippie and avoid fish. You buy own brand food from supermarkets, baked beans at 30p a can and a large white sliced loaf, which will last for a week. You buy all your clothes from Primart. You quit smoking. move into a squat and travel everywhere on a second hand bike and hey presto you're living much cheaper than you would be in Korea.