Korean Job Discussion Forums

[World Traveler]

I read that 30% of South Korea's economy is underground, compared to 6% of America's economy.

(I'm suprised at the difference, taking into account how much illegal drug sale there in the U.S. But look at how openly bootlegs are sold in the street and how much copyright infringement goes on in Korea. I get the impression that many hagwons here are under reporting money earned in order to save on taxes, or even not paying taxes at all. I think many are unregistered.)

[PRagic]

Think I heard somewhere that to be considered 'wealthy' in Seoul, you need to have about 2 million bucks (USD) AND own your own house/apartment on top of that.

I used to teach in an MBA program. Most of the students in my classes were making 5-9 million a month working for big companies in Korea. Most had been in the workforce for less than 5 years.

Personally, it's all relative to me. 10K a month goes a long way and provides a pretty high standard of living if you live in a small U.S. city. 10K a month in S.F., L.A., or N.Y.? I'd pass that job offer up in no time flat.

For first time, straight out of college ESL teachers here, the upside is that you can pay off your loans and start banking/investing faster than many in your age cohort 'at home'. This is particularly true if you have a degree in a less employable 'soft science' like English, History, or Sociology.

The problem is that the earing curve will eventually catch up with you if you don't invest in yourself while you're here, especially if you're here over the long term. Pretty soon, your peers 'back home' will be banking more than you, and they'll be living more comfortably as well. There are of course case-by-case stories that will enable an arguement for or against this. The teachers I've know long term here (over 10 years) who have invested in themselves have done very well, both in terms of income and, even more so, in terms of off time. Those who have moved away from ESL have done remarkably well, and are making more than most of their friends 'back home'. It'll depend on the person, the chosen career track, the level of committment, and, well, the breaks.

[Unposter]

For whatever it is worth, I agree with PRagic.

[World Traveler]

[madoka]

[madoka]

[Malislamusrex]

I read that data for that census report...... they did this research in 2006 and 2007.Between 2006 and 2007 there were wild swings between 100%+ in each group. I know doing this research for 116k people must have cost millions of dollars, but it's still just not all that accurate. The people making 250k+ could be anywhere between 0.1% to 10%

That scale thing is fun!