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The reality of living cost in Korea...
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oldfatfarang



Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: On the road to somewhere.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.
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eamo



Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
oldfatfarang wrote:


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


Something that 90% of ESL teachers in Korea don't seem to get. Your apartment isn't free!! You have to work to get it!! Just because part of your pay is diverted by your employer to cover your rent doesn't mean you're living rent-free.

As well as the fact that most employers will have put down the full amount of key money for your apartment so they don't actually pay a monthly rent. So, in a way, you're just getting a cut in your pay.
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northway



Joined: 05 Jul 2010
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
eamo wrote:
oldfatfarang wrote:


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


Something that 90% of ESL teachers in Korea don't seem to get. Your apartment isn't free!! You have to work to get it!! Just because part of your pay is diverted by your employer to cover your rent doesn't mean you're living rent-free.

As well as the fact that most employers will have put down the full amount of key money for your apartment so they don't actually pay a monthly rent. So, in a way, you're just getting a cut in your pay.


At the same time, it would be difficult for a lot of teachers to come up with the key money to get an apartment in the first place.
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jzrossef



Joined: 05 Nov 2010
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
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/
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eamo



Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
northway wrote:
eamo wrote:
oldfatfarang wrote:


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


Something that 90% of ESL teachers in Korea don't seem to get. Your apartment isn't free!! You have to work to get it!! Just because part of your pay is diverted by your employer to cover your rent doesn't mean you're living rent-free.

As well as the fact that most employers will have put down the full amount of key money for your apartment so they don't actually pay a monthly rent. So, in a way, you're just getting a cut in your pay.


At the same time, it would be difficult for a lot of teachers to come up with the key money to get an apartment in the first place.


Oh yeah. The provided apartment is majorly convenient and highly appreciated by ESL-ers who don't have the wherewithal to rent their own place, but not free.
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nukeday



Joined: 13 May 2010
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
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.
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eamo



Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
nukeday wrote:
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.


One employer I had 6 years ago specifically told me that my apartment was rented with full key money but that hagwon was still offering housing allowance, so, I dunno.....

maybe there's some kind of regulation which forces them to offer housing allowance.....or they know they'll need to hire teachers with their own apartments sometimes.
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Steelrails



Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
eamo wrote:
northway wrote:
eamo wrote:
oldfatfarang wrote:


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


Something that 90% of ESL teachers in Korea don't seem to get. Your apartment isn't free!! You have to work to get it!! Just because part of your pay is diverted by your employer to cover your rent doesn't mean you're living rent-free.

As well as the fact that most employers will have put down the full amount of key money for your apartment so they don't actually pay a monthly rent. So, in a way, you're just getting a cut in your pay.


At the same time, it would be difficult for a lot of teachers to come up with the key money to get an apartment in the first place.


Oh yeah. The provided apartment is majorly convenient and highly appreciated by ESL-ers who don't have the wherewithal to rent their own place, but not free.


Considering that the key money for my place was 10 million won, free or not, that's nothing to sneeze at.
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southernman



Joined: 15 Jan 2010
Location: On the mainland again
PostPosted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
jzrossef wrote:
southernman wrote:

The major savings here, if you have a good location

Walk everywhere
No or low income tax
Free accomadation
Cheap Utilities, water, power,gas, internet, cable
Cheap public transport
Very cheap cigarettes, local beer

I think a lot of people who have been here a while and ccok for themselves the majority of the time. Know where the best deals are, spend less than 200K a week.

If you're living on less than 800K a month, then your savings are relative to how much you're making.

Savings, however, are all reliant on exchange rates and right now the exchange rate sucks.


So I guess the highlight of Korea is really accomodation, transportation and low income tax. (I don't drink or smoke, with occasioanl wine drinking that seems to be pretty expensive in Korea anyway)


I understand that first 3-4 maybe even 5 years, I will be living in pretty crammed and not-so clean places... but is it realistic to plan for something better in.. say, 7-8 years? I'm thinking something like 1350 square feet or somewhere along with that line. (Total lot, that is. It's probably a bit smaller if furnitures are taken to account)

Grocery tends to cost 100k won?

I know money isn't everything, but higher career prospect with low-living cost to justify lower income is one of the main reasons why I am planning on heading back (I will have to for about half a decade anyway) It sounds like the trend supported this but the reality looks more grim when you calculate all the costs.

Am I right about being cautious, or am I missing the big picture here? I don't seem to fully understand how housing benefits work in Korea. I can find a decent apartment (a lot better than most Korean apartments) for about 150-200k Canadian. (that's between 100-160million won... awfully a lot of savings to consider when you save 1 million won per month) We're talking about 11 years of saving for an apartment... and that's assuming that you can keep on saving 1 million/month with no rainy day... which is hard to imagine in Korea.


I forgot about the Pension scheme and re-signing bonus as well.

Pension, I put in roughly 120 K a month the government matches that. If you come from a lucky country you even get it refunded Very Happy
Re-signing bonus is over 7 Mil, or mine was a level 1 teacher, living on an island.

The last two places I've lived have been less than 18 months old, both nice although one was a tad small, the one i'm in now is located perfectly, nicely set out, all the funiture/whitewear was brought new. It's a basic Villa but large enough for me. You get the luck of the draw.

But frankly I wouldn't live in a hovel. I Take it that you've lived here before, as you know, you can have some stressful days. If my apartment wasn't nice enough and I didn't get a better one, I'd leave and work elsewhere. My apartment has to be my safe zone and my sanctuary

100k is a lot more than I spend for groceries and I include cigarettes in my grocery bill.

My Korean colleagues were having a reather animated discussion over the price of apartments over a lunch hour smoke break today. It basically came down to the fact that everyone (Koreans) had believed that the housing market had topped out 3 years ago. The reality is that prices have risen dramatically. Aparentley to the extent the President has said they have to come down, like that will happen in a market driven ecomomy.

These were all exp