Korean Job Discussion Forums

[greatunknown]

Well today is my first pay day. (yay)

My salary is 2.1 million/month. And I actually was paid 1.8million. My boss told me to deliver any bills to him and he'd pay them for me and take it out of my salary. my first day of work was July 4'th, and my contract say's I will be paid on the 7'th of each month (does that mean I'm a few days short of a full months pay?)

When I got here there was already cable and internet. I received a bill for W84 000 but it looked like it was for 2 months service because all the charges were there twice, of course I could be mistaken, it was all in Korean. My gas/electricity bills totalled around W45 000. My cellphone is in my employers name, and I'm not exactly sure what it costs.. Although I did ask for them to add a data plan which was an extra W10 000

so; 2.1 million salary, after about W130 000 in bills AND an unknown cellphone bill AND tax(3.2%)/healthcare/pension works out to 1.8million

I will ask for something on paper that lists all of my deductions on Monday but can someone tell me if this sounds right? I was expecting to get paid a tiny bit more.

Thanks for the help!

Edit: I really meant to put this in Job Related Discussion... Sorry about that. Mods feel free to move it

[nathanrutledge]

Just my opinion - pay your own bills. It's not hard to do and you won't have to worry about people skimming off the top.

Your taxes seem high. I make more than you and I pay 1.6% for both national and local taxes. So you should be paying 33,000 won per month in taxes.

Just to double check though, are you saying that 3.2% is taxes, or is that taxes/pension/insurance?

If it's all of them combined, you're getting a good deal. I'm paying just under 9% total for pension/insurance/taxes. But, the more you make the faster those numbers increase too...

Why are you paying an internet bill for 2 months if you just got here? That bill sounds about right for two months - I'm paying something like 35,000 a month for KT internet, but if you're paying for the month when you weren't here, that's a problem.

Same thing with the gas and electricity. The bills flip flop with the seasons. You should be paying about 50k a month for gas and electricity. Now, if you're fragile and need it hot in winter and cold in summer, you could easily be paying 100k each month, or more.

Cell phone is a bit trickier. IF it's a nice new phone that you're paying installments on, paying 50-60 a month for the phone and contract is not out of line. Personally, I have an inexpensive phone with a contract that is based on usage. As I don't use my phone much, I pay about 20-25 a month. Heavy usage months, I might push it up to 45 - but that only happened once.

All in all, it sounds like the numbers are about right, but I think you're getting stuck with an extra bill - the internet bill for the month before you got here.

I'd try and get the phone in your name and get the bills yourself and handle them - no sense having another link in the chain.

[ForeverWanderlust]

So im trying to get an idea of my taxes and bills with a 2.2 mil won salary.

Pension/Insurance/Taxes equals about 10% total. So on a 2.2 mil salary it is about 220,000 correct?

Average gas & electric bills are roughly 70,000

Korean Internet roughly 40,000

New Iphone with plan roughly 60,000 - 70,000

Total = 400,000 won/month

2,200,000 - 400,000 = 1,800,000 won a month for food, going out, gym, misc stuff.

Gym membership is roughly 60,000 right?

Average food cost for someone that eats on the cheap 250,000?

Going out 3-4 times a week, moderately drinking on the cheap 300,000-400,000?

Comes out to about 700,000 - 800,000 a month

Leaving you about 1 mil to save a month

Is all this accurate?

[greatunknown]

Thanks Nate!

Yeah the bills being paid by my boss thing is just for the first month. I will pay them myself from here on out. I actually do trust my boss he has been very kind and helpful to me. As for the tax rate, yes I am aware I am overpaying by about 1.6% and I tried to get it reduced but they just didn't seem to get it. Everything else about the job is good so I decided to let it slide.

I am paying for 1 month of internet/cable that I wasn't even here for. But I also decided to let that slide because the convenience of having internet/cable from day 1 (minute 1 really) and the cost of the connection fee IMO offsets it. Maybe I'm a sucker I dunno.

Thanks for your response. I think I am happy with what I got.. I am at a much lower pay grade then I was back at home, but I am in a new country and enjoying myself so it is well worth it! I didn't come here for the money but I was wondering what tone/attitude to express when I asked for a list of my deductions

Thanks again

[nathanrutledge]

[young_clinton]

A lot if you don't blow it all on partying, bars and expensive restaurants. Just eat at cheap Korean restaurants, they are actually pretty good.

[HarryMorgan]

[greatunknown]

[sojusucks]

Food and booze can blow your budget if you don't use your head.

[ForeverWanderlust]

[isisaredead]

i can get five pints for W20,000 at my local bar here, so multiply that and you're looking at around W60,000.

that's a lot of drinking, though, in my opinion. are you planning on working with young people the next day, after having five pints of beer?

[ForeverWanderlust]

im not sure exactly how much a pint is

just bottled beer and regular drafts.

or mix drinks.

5 over the course of a whole night is not really alot for a 185 pound guy

[SeoulNate]

bottles will run you anywhere from 4,000-7,000 per bottle depending on what you are drinking and where.

Draft will run you 2,500-4,000 depending on where you drink it.

cocktails and mixed drinks will run you 4,000-8,000 depending on what and where.

On the cheapest (talking only drinking draft beer NOT at bars) = 12,500 per outing. Cocktails will run you much more.

If you want to drink on the cheap, stick with soju or rice wine.

[greatunknown]

I was only asking what I would clear after the most basic of expenses. What I clear after entertainment/eating/drinking is a totally different story! If I piss my money away at the local watering hole its my own sad business! I will try not to do that.

And for those who are wondering, Bars aren't to expensive here (I can get blotto for 30 000 won if I stick to the cheaper spots). And I LOVE drinking (I really do!) and I can stay out till 6am with the best of them! That being said, working with children really requires a clear head. Drinking on weeknights is in no way worth it for me. If I got drunk and had to work the next day I'd be a lazy, useless excuse for a "teacher".

[ForeverWanderlust]