Korean Job Discussion Forums

[northway]

[ewlandon]

[iggyb]

Here is another perspective:

I have a few Korean kids in my elementary school who entered a Korean school for the first time after having spent most or all of their lives abroad - mostly in English-speaking countries.

It has been a rough year for them, and they speak Korean and have Korean parents. It has still been a big culture shock for them. They have gotten by. One boy who is in his 2nd or 3rd year after being relocated from Russia fits in fairly well but is still not like one of the gang. One of students coming in for her first year does not speak outside her family. Not Korean or English. She goes mute outside of the home, and she has kept it up all year.

So, sure....uprooting your kids and taking to Korea for a year is a swell idea.......can't see any potential road bumps at all.......Don't listen to the naysayers - those nattering nabobs of negativism.......It's foreigners like that that give us all a bad name!!

[ewlandon]

[randall020105]

Clearly lots of people haven't been bred in ideal circumstances... not their fault.

Some have the ability to read and understand on their feet... some stuff like "under the radar" need to be broken down into bite-sized-pieces for others...

OP take from the forum what's helpful and ignore the rest...

Pay off your bills, live closer with your family, save some coin... (fill in the blanks) ...and live life to the full....... oh! and ignore some posters on here who clearly see your arrival as a threat...

Regards,

R

[iggyb]

"and live life to the full"

Now we're either trolling or desperately trying to dog paddle after getting in too deep and desperately trying to salvage your Shangrala view of life. You'd do better giving up the thread. You're drowning here...

" oh! and ignore some posters on here who clearly see your arrival as a threat"

You forgot, "P.S. And don't call me if things fall apart and you're feeling really blue. No negative vibes!!

Just suck it up and go with the flow! Life is what YOU make it, remember!

If you and your family aren't making it here, it must be because you're a bunch of losers....just like those other losers. And I'm done with ya. Life's too short to bring myself down by being around people like you...

But --- if things go really well for you.....shoot me a line!! We'll hang out and have a few beers!!

Cheers, mate!!"

[ttompatz]

[iggyb]

Like I wrote once above, I can see the OP trying this out if she comes over for a year and builds a foundation and the move is for the medium to long term: 4 or 5 years minimum if things work out...

[rollo]

This is not adventure OP it is a job and often a dreary , tiring job. Now your husband can sit at home all day watching movies, or t.v. he might take a walk sometimes. You will be at work probably from mid afternoon and get home around ten at night. You will have No extra money, none. it will all go for clothes, food utilities. You will then be in a small box together in your free time , oh your free time that is for shopping doctor visits, things like that. But back to the small box where you will live cramped together broke eating crap food because that is all you will be able to afford on your salary.
China would be much better, often the apartments are two bedroom even a one bedroom is bigger than what you will have in Korea. Also and this is a biggy, your husband can work. probably part time as he will need time to spend with the children. Your hours would be more 9 to five. Food prices, travel and such are much lower in China. You and your family can eat very very well in China cheaply. There are some awesome vacation spots in China and you will have vacation time to enjoy them. Education would have to be the home school kind but that is not so bad if you are diligent. Your children learning mandarin is also a real plus.
if for some reason you lost your job in Korea you would be looking a a huge disaster. Firings are common for reasons that only Koreans understand. Korea is just not doable with children and a husband who can not work. China would be tough but it is doable. Look at the colleges in China, teaching hours are usually twenty hours a week and that is much better than the thirty in Korea. Weekends off and one free day during the week.
people on here are giving you some really good advice, one of the keys to making it teaching in Asia is too be able to listen to the experienced people. I also understand your need to try something new. Look at China it would be much better. Korea is just one option and not the best one for you. Good luck and please try to absorb the good advice that is being given to you.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[braindrops]

a little excerpt from the fabulous Ask a Korean! blog:

[Gorf]

[ontheway]

Hello OP,

Many posters on here are being overly pessimistic. My post on page two outlined briefly a number of pitfalls and concerns, and it wasn't exhaustive, but I wouldn't want to leave you with the view that your dream is impossible or even a bad idea.

Now, there may be personal reasons within your family that make coming here too difficult or it may be that you are not cut out to be a teacher, but there is no reason based on conditions in Korea that you shouldn't give your plan a try.

You can find a job that will give you and your family a 2 or even 3 bedroom apartment at no charge as part of your contract. Many schools do that as standard housing for all teachers. Your taxes, health insurance and pension will take less than 10% of your pay and monthly utilities will take less than 15% per month on average.

You can live on 2.2 million won per month with your familiy of 4 and still save money. Food just isn't that expensive here, if you learn to eat Korean staples and give up the expensive foods from back home that many expats won't give up. Frugal single teachers can easily save $1000 per month here out of their regular salaries and add the pension and year end severance pay to the savings pot for the year. If you are frugal and budget well, you can certainly take care of your additional family expenses out of that $1000 since your housing is paid for and you don't need a car.

Your older daughter should buckle down and learn a lot of Korean in advance - get some books and tapes now - then she can enroll and make it in Korean school and supplement her education with homeschooling. Your youngest can adapt quickly to Korean school - many foreign youngsters have done it.

You should absolutely look for a smaller sized city where you will be more welcome, the cost of living is much cheaper, your family will make Korean friends, the school will offer large housing as a standard and there are ample cheap and free options for family fun time. Your husband can shop at early morning farmers' markets and learn to make Kimchi. If you can go with the zen of Korea it will work out fine.

Many young people come to Korea to party while holding positions as teachers and don't understand how to make a family work and live on a budget or how to live well on less. They blow through their money by going out needlessly and buying expensive and useless stuff. This is especially true in the biggest cities where the cost of life and party fare takes most of their pay. If your alternate lifestyle means you're used to getting by as a family and making do, then you can easily do that here. Many Korean families do fine on less than 2.2 million per month without free housing provided by an employer.

[iggyb]

What hakwon gives people a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment?

I got a 2 bedroom place in a hakwon once � along with a living room. Another teacher was put in the other bedroom and a 2nd in the living room. (Back when shared housing was common.)

[northway]