Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PatrickGHBusan]

Sorry Stan, did not mean to offend you.

[Stan Rogers]

[tremault]

thanks for all the additional comments!

Son deureo!,
Thanks for the link to that thread. It's a real eye opener. I have a ton of emails from agents and schools and I was wondering how to pick through them. I guess one of my critria will be trying to judge if the school is doing well. Also, good advice on the health assessment. I had no idea how other countries view specific learning disabilities. I'll make sure to keep quiet abut it. I only got diagnosed when I was 27 so It's not as if it will be completely apparent.

adzee1,
Thanks, I'll consider getting another CRB form. I visited a solicitor today and they said I need a notary public to notarise the documsents. Apparently they are getting rarer.
Those initial costs look a bit tricky but if the apartment and plane ticket are more likely in Korea then it may be the best plan.

JustinC,
Got your pm, thanks. I do have somebody who I am in talks with who may be able to offer plane ticket and accomodation in China. I need to analyse the email to see how reliable it feels and assess the situation. I may go that way.

PatrickGHBusan,
8000000W sounds like a lot. In my money that is �440 at my current budget, that would last me 11 weeks! I can't imagine livings costs being that high in Korea.

Stan Rogers,
I currently operate under a tight budget so I think I can manage it. Thanks for the encouragement.

Keeper,
This is a good point. I would like to find something within the next couple of months. I want to be out of the UK before Christmas, ideally.

[PatrickGHBusan]

[tremault]

It's not like i want to doubt your experience as you undoubtedly have a lot more than I. It's just that, I find I can live on a lot less money than most people.
I cook all my food from scratch and source my ingredients from local producers to save the cost of transport.
I don't buy ready made food from shops or restaurants, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke, I don't have a lot of need to use cosmetics, I cut my hair really short and use crystal deodorants ( they last months).

I just can't help but wonder if your budget might be based on something like the following link - http://www.personalfinancewhiz.com/sample-average-monthly-budget-for-a-single-person-or-college-student/
I know that in some parts of the world, cost of living is viewed very differently. like the people posting on that blog post, seem to think charity is a fundamental basic. also car and gas. I ride a pushbike.

am I making sense, or have i just got the total wrong idea? is it really that expensive because that sound crazy to me. I mean, the difference in cost sounds insane.
how much would it cost to make a simple stew in korea? if you buy from local producers. it costs me around �5-7 to make a full pot which will last me 5-7 days.

[JustinC]

You're getting offers already? Cool. The choice of school is, for me, more important than the location. I'd rather work in a great school in an industrial heartland than a rubbish school near the beach. At least you can stay home in the evenings, online, and travel at the weekends but you have to attend the school every weekday.

So having a chat with some staff there is ideal. If a local teacher can hold a conversation with you it often means they take English seriously and you'll have good team to work in. If you get to chat with a current / previous foreign teacher there then great (very rare). If I can email a current teacher then I'm happy, but in my first job I had lengthy chats with the head of department; she's Chinese but her English was great.

Also Google the school; if there's nothing about it either no one has had cause to complain or it's a new school. If there are a couple of negative threads check the dates - it might have been bad 10 years ago. If there are lots of recent negative threads then look elsewhere. You can also search for it in local forums - this and Waygook for Korea, look out for city-specific ones in China as the country is huge.

Just my opinions, but experiences can differ.

Also this gig is mostly about conversation, songs, games (think Sesame Street, Play Away, Rainbow, Blue Peter), I've only come across teaching 'serious' grammar to adults. Imagine you're in a classroom with 25 foreign kids and trying to teach them the word 'door'; you can point at the door in the room and get them to repeat, show them pictures of doors, if you have a screen linked to a computer you can show YouTube clips of people opening/closing doors, or a PPT with pictures of different doors on it and the word 'door' in different lettering, and play a game involving doors, windows, walls (Simon Says look at the door etc - there are dozens of websites for EFL/ESL activities).

[kabrams]

I know days are much different and things have gotten more expensive, but I came to Korea with zero USD and no Korean won. In fact, for the first month, I lived off the 300,000 won relocation allowance. I didn't even spend it all. At the end of the month, I had only spent about 100,000 won on food (and coffee, haha).

That said, I was only able to live off the relocation allowance because I did not have a commute (I walked to my school every day) and I did not have to pay for anything in my apartment. Lunch was automatically deducted from my pay. My coworkers also gave me food all the time because they figured I couldn't cook. My neighbors used to make food for me and give me free things from their shops. When I went out, I was lucky enough that my coworkers and new people I met paid for me. (As time went on, I repaid the favor by picking up the tab when we went out.) I didn't even have to pay for a taxi from the airport to my apartment; my principal sent along a private driver to come get me.

So if you are lucky (and I was extremely lucky) you will be able to live in Korea without saving any money. If not, it may be tough for that month and will perhaps leave you in a vulnerable position. To be honest, if I had to do it over, I would have brought money along. It seems obvious, but it's really never a good idea to be without emergency funds.

Try to save money if you can at all. But if you can't do it, don't let that deter you. If you are really strapped for cash, see if you can find some temp work, and then use all of your earnings from that temp work for your move to Korea. I think Labor Ready in Canada may have quick cash positions that may help you out.

Good luck!

[tremault]

that sounds like an awesome scheme. I wish there was something like that in the uk ^_^;
well what I'm gonna do is to try and pay off as much of my credit card as i can. then ask them to increase my limit. that can then be emergency funds.

I think i'm similar to you. I walk everywhere. I'm used to walking.

[kabrams]

[JustinC]

Does the benefits agency still give out hardship loans? I remember friends getting them for one-off stuff like if their fridge broke (actually the fridge was fine but they wanted to party, lol).

[tremault]

actually yes they have all sorts of things to help with costs when starting a new job. I have considered asking them about it but as I would be accepting a job overseas there may be problems. I'll be sure to ask them about it though. They may be able to help in a big way.

thanks for bringing it up!!

[busanliving]

You dont need to get the documents notarized, get the criminal check fro
Disclosure Scotland and they will do it for free if you ask them. The degree doesn't need to be notarized, but authenticicated which can be done by any practicing solicitor although a lot seem confused by this but it is a LOT cheeper. Check the fco office website for full details.

Good luck, it will be a struggle, and it's really important you do your research and speak to other employees before accepting anything. Check what will be in the apartment, usually you will be left with basic cooking equiptment from the old teacher but make sure.

Take into account the first month might be pretty miserable if you can't afford to socialize and you are dealing with culture shock etc but get through that and you will have a lot of disposable income each month. If you end up in Busan or nearby give me a shout, I would be happy to meet up and do some free stuff during that first month.

[PatrickGHBusan]

You can cook from scratch all you want and buy at the local farmer market in a Korean city but food will still cost you as prices have risen.

I do not doubt you can live in 800 000W but that will in NO WAY last you 11 weeks in a large Korean city.

[metalhead]

[kabrams]

Maybe I just like roughing it, but I have never gone to a new country with money, ever. It's a bit risky, and now that I'm a bit older, I don't plan on doing it again.

Even if you can only manage 5% of your income each month towards saving for Korea, do it! That's better than nothing. Have you also considered if you can make money selling your furniture/items in your home?

However, if you have no recourse, no other option, I would still do it. Life is not perfect. Sometimes you have to take a risk, especially if you are completely unhappy where you are now.

When you are in Korea, you can combat the loneliness by joining an online group to meet conversation partners. Asking if there are other schools nearby with international teachers might also help.

Also, just to put it into perspective, that first month is only about 9% of your time in Korea if you stay for a year. It may be a bad 9%, but your job is to make the rest of the 91% enjoyable!

Good luck.