Korean Job Discussion Forums

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

I believe I posted about this topic in a thread last year:

I worked and lived in Korea for nearly 10 years.

A couple of my biggest gripes were miscommunication in the workplace (or lack thereof), traffic, spitting, crowds, rudeness, discrimination in how I was treated despite being the spouse of a Korean national - mainly talking banking discrimination here, and how Koreans overall treated me.

I loved the students, the mountains, public transportation, shopping, the food, the easy access of the language (it is pretty easy to learn and use the basics), the amount of money I was making, being able to use "family" to get out of extra stuff at work like drinking, driving, the Internet, and having a working knowledge of how to get around Seoul and the greater Seoul area.

I left Korea to return home, but that got boring fast and teaching in Canada, even with a B.Ed and no connections is near impossible. I got a job in China and have been there 3 yrs now.

At first I wasn't making what I had made in Korea - but that is normal if you consider that I had worked at the same school (yes school, not academy) for over 5 years and I was the head of my department. I got priority on teaching after school classes and holiday classes, so I was making a fair chunk of change when I looked at my yearly salary. Probably in the range of 4mil+ a month before taxes.

Now I am making more than that, and my next contract will be even higher. I am the head of my department, so that gives me a little bit more money, but overall I believe it has given me value to my school to increase my salary to be in line with my experience and what I contribute to the school.

Disclaimer: I am not in ESL, I teach at an International School, but as someone has said, good ESL gigs can pay over 20k RMB a month, and I have heard of many in my area that pay 25k+ RMB a month if you are at a private high school and have the right qualifications. (B.Ed/MA)

As someone said, the cost of living is much lower in China, and believe me it all adds up. If you, as a single person can save an extra 100-300 dollars a month, imagine what someone like me with a family can save? I can save a hell of a lot. So for savings, China is looking to edge over Korea the longer I stay here. My school isn't even a top tier school. If I worked at one of those, the pay would blow away what I was making in Korea and I would easily save 50k+ US.

The downside of living in China is if you aren't in Shanghai or Beijing, the health care is pretty dodgy...hell it is dodgy even in those cities. If you thought Korean doctors sucked, wait until you see a Chinese doctor. I pretty much only go to places with foreign doctors. If I am stuck outside my medical areas I could be screwed.

The pollution makes anything I've experienced in Korea seem a silver medal winner in comparison. I lived in Seoul in the 1990s when the pollution was absolutely horrible - I couldn't walk down the street because the bus pollution would make me physically ill...Koreans always wore masks. Some places in China are like that now. The Beijing-Tianjin area is pretty bad most of the time and I happen to live in that area. Either it is getting better every year, or I am getting used to it. It is still pretty bad and thus a reason why I probably won't live in China more than 5 years.

The spitting is EVERYWHERE. The guy who said Korea is worse has no clue. Yes, Koreas spit and they are good at it. However, the Chinese bring it to new heights by spitting in elevators, in hallways in apartment buildings, in dept. stores, or hotel lobbies. I seriously don't get what is wrong with them, but they spit everywhere. It is gross and when this habit is fixed, I think the image of the country will be MUCH better.

The drivers are horrible. ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. I cannot comprehend how they do not know how to use their defrost function when it is either raining, or in winter when they have a car full of people and the windows are foggy...they don't see to get hey the defrost function will clear the windows. They drive in a zone that any sane westerner will have trouble accepting. I didn't think I would make it past a month after learning I would have to taxi to work everyday and how crazy those drivers are. Amazingly, they don't get into as much accidents as they should considering how abnormal the driving is...they have a system and it just goes against everything our Western system does. Korea's drivers are hands down better in every way...yes that is saying something. I drive in Korea, there is no way I am driving in China.

I cannot comment on girls, as I am married. From what I have seen though, if you got a few bucks, finding a girl isn't going to be hard. There are some nice, educated girls who have dated some of the single guys I've worked with, but nothing long term like marriage has occurred yet.

The Internet in China can be a challenge too due to the Great Firewall...censorship at its finest!

Initially I was planning to return to Korea, however a couple things are keeping me in China: I like being treated with respect where I work and in my community; I like my privacy; I like my school and the people I work with; I like how easy it is to save money; Korea will always be there, whereas once I decide to leave China I doubt I will return.

Go where you want to go. If it is only about the money, well money can be made anywhere if you have the contacts or luck into the right job. How satisfied are you with WHERE you live. For me, my house is huge compared to Korea and that is a big plus. However, I do see myself returning to Korea at some point as I find it overall more comfortable to live in.

edwardcatflap · Joined: 22 Mar 2009

Oreovictim · Joined: 23 Aug 2006

lemak · Joined: 02 Jan 2011

My vote goes to China also.

I spent 8 years in bland, monotonous, concrete Korea before moving to Wuxi, Jiangsu.

It's a great city. Grass everywhere, tree lined, the local government has really spent a lot of money making it pretty and liveable.

Could count on one hand the number of people I've seen spit (although I did spend around a year travelling in different provinces, so am aware this is kind of an anomaly). Compared to this place phlegm wise Korea was far, far worse. Likewise with the trash. No trash cans in Seoul and a culture that it's acceptable to drop your crap anywhere makes the place feel like a refugee camp at times.

So far I've found the Chinese people here to be friendly, helpful, and positively curious. Not being bumped into is nice too. Also living in a university district generally finding English speakers isn't an issue. In contrast I *personally* found Koreans to be more aloof, easily angered and more disdainful towards outsiders.

Uni pays are pretty crap compared to Korea, but I was only teaching 9 hours a week spread over 3~4 days last semester. Easy enough to pick up an extra day of privates or teach in a second school to supplement that.

Culturally the place is fascinating, the language far more useful, albeit a bit more difficult.

Also easy enough to sign up for a VPN....plenty of free ones out there...which makes the internet censorship issue kind of moot.
Korean internet is super fast, but I can still download a movie in around 40 minutes here which isn't TOO shabby.

Foreigner-wise there's a lot more diversity in both nationalities and professions meaning conversations usually consist of more variety than constant moaning about hagwons or Korea in general. July 4th party the other night had around 20 people attend from 12 different countries. I love that stuff. Interestingly the four people who had lived in Korea previously spent some time still bitching about that country.

Loads more imported stuff in the regular Chinese supermarkets (Carrefour, Auchan, Wal-Mart, Vanguard etc.) than the Korean ones too.
Colgate and Crest toothpaste!

Downsides include the horrendous driving, you still can live cheaply, but the quality of food you're eating or things you're buying are really atrocious. Paper cups that leak, wine openers that break before opening even one bottle of wine, light bulbs that blow out the first time you use them etc. Food of dubious hygiene cooked with drain oil. If you want decent quality you'll have to pay in many cases 3 or 4 times the price of the cheapest product.

Koreans had a good work ethic, in spite of not always being the most efficient workers they did understand that they're expected to actually work at work. The Chinese can come across as a little lazy doing the barest amount needed in order to collect their pay. Annoying when you're lined up at the PSB at 4pm on the day your work visa expires because the admin at work have been too disorganized or slack to actually do their job.

Huge props to Korea also for the near absence of thievery. Nice to be able to fall asleep on the subway and wake with all your belongings still sitting beside you.

Obviously loads of generalizations, and I understand it's completely area specific....I could move to the next town down the road and have a completely opposite situation. This is all just based on my experiences and personal beliefs.

Korea is great for a year or two max, see a new country, pay off some debts, save some cash, but it's easy to get stuck in the rut.

China all the way, baby!

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

pugwall · Joined: 22 Oct 2006

Konglishman · Joined: 14 Sep 2007 Location: Nanjing

JustinC · Joined: 10 Mar 2012 Location: We Are The World!

Yeah, Black = Hate is so far off the radar of most people as to be irrelevant.

Black + "Yo ma n*g*er' though does seem to create a reaction, usually bad. I think it's more a hip hop culture thing than a black thing. That word is as offensive as many others, regardless of who says it, and just hearing it makes me cautious.