Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Scriabin]

I think it would be interesting to see how much money the people on this board are saving - and how they are doing it.

For instance do you have side jobs (private english lessons etc...) to help increase your monthly income? Do schools generally allow this?

-scriabin

[Chris.Quigley]

You should easily be able to save 12,000,000 Won in a year. Thats around US$10,000.

Private tutoring is illegal. However, if you work for a public school they may ask you to work extra after school classes. You could easily earn an additional 2000-4000$ or more in a year from these.

I don't suggest private tutoring for the following reasons:

1.) It's illegal, get caught and face a large fine or even deportation.
2.) Usually the tutoring takes up your "prime-time," (Weekends and evenings) making a social life very difficult.
3.) You have to prepare material for these students, they are often very demanding, yet at the same time have no idea of what they really want you to do for them. For every hour of lessons, expect 1 hour of prep work.
4.) If you are an attractive male/female with any morality, you will end up with problems especially when tutoring married individuals of the opposite sex.
5.) You may end up in disputes with students/their parents over money.

On the other hand:

You can easily earn an additional 10 grand in a year by doing privates.

[Scriabin]

Is it possible to ask the hagwon/school to remove this restriction from the contract? Would it still be illegal?

If providing private english lessons is out of the question (I would not engage in illegal activity and risk being deported) are there any other conceivable avenues of earning side income? (for example, buying a digital piano and giving piano lessons - lol)

I would like to save 1.5K Canadian dollars a month if possible.

[the ireland]

An E2 visa is sponsored by your employer, it limits you to working on their premises. You can not work at any other location other than that stated when you applied for the visa (your employers school address)

The only way you could teach privates legally would be to find the potential students and teach them at your school address. This would involve getting your bosses permission, and losing some of your fee to the boss as a commission.

You eould also have to organise these for a time when the school is open and you're not teaching, should you organise it for when classes are finishe then someone is going to have to stay around and lock up the building when you're done, they'll have to be paid for their trouble too. (unless your boss gives you the keys and the alarm code)

[Wintermute321]

I usually save a 1 - 1.3 million won a month. I'm a public school teacher, and my school doesn't offer me after school classes unfortunately. December and July I usually make another 8 or 9 hundred thousand more by working at another school's English camp along with my own schools.

[Scriabin]

[Oreovictim]

[AsiaESLbound]

$1000 a month or about 1.2m won. Could be more, but food really is a major expense with it being so pricey. $15,000 saved in a year is doable. That's not a lot of money, but it's a whole lot more than most back home can save for their future. It kinda goes back home, you either have something around $100 in the bank living paycheck to paycheck or you have $1,000,000+ in financial assets.

[blackjack]

[Scriabin]

[Bill2K]

[northway]

[the ireland]

Teaching anywhere but at your school is not allowed. You can't do it, no matter how happy your boss is for you to do so.

If you had an F series visa I think you would be allowed to do it but you would have to declare it to the tax man.

To answer your original question.


since the end of september I have started saving by sticking to a budget. I didn't do this throughout the entire year though but I will have saved about 22-23million for the year I'd imagine.

That total figure includes my final month's severance. (I don't get my pension back though.......I will have over 6 million tied up in pension alone come march )

[Scriabin]

You saved 23 million Won in one year? If so, I'm assuming you have a higher salary than the typical 2.1million per month? Please explain

[PRagic]

A lot. But I've been here a while and the better half makes decent coin off and on.