Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Smithington]

I'm considering making a move to working in China. I am wondering if anyone working here in Korea has also worked in China. How is it in comparison to Korea, both in standard of living (for us) and working conditions. Can you save money there, or do you mostly teach there for the experience? What did you like about working in China? Most importantly, why did you come (back) to Korea after China? Do you recommend working there (even for just a year or two)?

Thanks in advance for any information.

Smith

[erasmus]

I have. I worked in Korea for a few years and decided I needed a change. I went to China and got a job from a recruiter. The job was at a college and paid a very low wage; I was okay with this because I had never taught college before. I thought that a year teaching at a low wage would relieve some of the pressure I would feel as I learnt how to teach at that level. I found out later, though, that my wage was low because my recruiter was taking a little more than half of it every month. The college actually paid pretty good.

The students were excellent and the faculty were very helpful. The country itself is chaos and, if it's not redundant, mayhem. Selfish people who will throw an elbow in your ribs before they let you sit down in a seat on a bus that might be theirs, cars (driven by people, of course) who would sooner run you down than touch their brake...all that's good about civilization is really just cracking this massive nut.

The idea of China being the next superpower seems a little crazy to me. It would be better off being Korea's factory while Korea continues to take over this part of the world. Does China really have anything to offer but its illustrious history and cheap labour? Nobody wants Chinese culture. Name a Chinese brand that's important on the global stage. It's a great place to travel but I will never entertain the idea of living there again.

Some may mention the diversity of Chinese culture but on a day to day level how does that affect you? Can you go see the Terra Cotta Warriors after work? Slip on over to The Great Wall? There was nothing to do after work where I was but eat and drink with students (fun for a while but finally tedious...).

Being tired, I will summarize. Korea and China have many of the same problems. The pay equals out to be about the same. Whatever country you become attached to will be the better one. I like Korea.

Oh, and to answer the OP's question. I came back to Korea because I'm more comfortable here, I sort of understand the rules, and it's a country that you can really grasp... or get to know, however one might put it. I say go to China, get the experience, and decide for yourself.

[nukeday]

I agree with the above poster. I just had to laugh at the part where he said Korea would be taking over this part of the world...I believe that's Japan's and possibly Russia's dominion. Korea'll always just be Samsung and teenaged girls into k-pop.

Another thing I'll add - the cost of living in Chinese cities is skyrocketing. I pay more for rent in Beijing than I imagine I would for a similar place in Seoul. Transportation, dining out, and drinking are still cheap though.

The good thing about the Chinese is they have a much less inflated sense of national worth than the Koreans do. They're a lot more self-critical and able to see the huge flaws in their society. They're proud when their athletes do well but they don't expect to win the World Cup in their lifetimes and middle-aged men don't ask me why I'm not a huge fan of figure-skating or gymnastics. They're also more regional in their pride. In Korea I'd always get asked what I thought of Korea. Here I get asked what I think of Beijing.

But they still get worked up over Japanese islands and the Yasukuni Shrine.

I'm in China now. I miss Korea's drinking culture and the relatively good personal hygiene Koreans have, but little else.

[Yaya]

Well, you don't need a college degree to teach in China, so I'm thinking you have quite a number of crackers and characters there.

[erasmus]

[fustiancorduroy]

[nukeday]

There are a lot of "crackers and characters" among the English teaching crowd, but in general you meet a much wider range of expats than you do in Seoul, where it seems everyone is either a mid-20s overweight Canadian woman with a BA, or an American soldier. Actually that sounds more like 2005, so I guess I should add in past-their-prime frat boys to the list.

Over in China, there are a lot more foreigners who own local businesses, plenty of "fatpats," journalists, international students, and of course the occasional group of screwball English teachers. And yes, many more expats can speak Chinese than those who speak Korean. Mandarin's more of a world language than Korean is, and it's also harder to live in China than it is to live in Korea without speaking any of the language. I mean, I knew a few guys married to Koreans who still could barely order in restaurants.

And I'm going to have to agree-to-disagree with erasmus. I just don't see the name recognition of Korean brands being a sign of Korea's rise in Asia. If that's the case, give Lenovo and Haier 10 years. They're the next in line after the Sony/Panasonic/Samsung/LG dynasties. I'm still not convinced people know or care about anything Korean in the US other than Gangnam Style, and I don't really care how many "Handsome Boy" tv shows Asian housewives watch. Most of these seem to be fads rather than trends. And most of these fads will probably be taken over by the Chinese just as the Koreans took them from the Japanese.

[Kepler]

[World Traveler]

There are educated people in both countries who can speak English well (my friend in Seoul said the overall level of English in Beijing was better than the overall level in Korea's capital); however, the overwhelming majority in both countries cannot speak English with any degree of coherency.

[World Traveler]

[rollo]

Korean is much harder than Chinese to learn. Most expats in china do pick up some or a lot of Chinese. Simple reason is that Chinese is a valuable commodity on the world market. Korean not so much. lenovo and such will not be world brands. They are junk and can not compete in the West.
the Chinese are some of the friendliest people on earth. Getting away from Beijing is a good idea. it is not really China, and is a stressful place. The expat scene is much much more varied here. there is more to do mainly because it is just such a huge place. I love hiking and mountains and china has some of the greatest mountain scenery on earth. No "blocking" when it comes to females. The Chinese dont seem to give a darn about a WEsterner being with a Chinese girl.

[erasmus]

to fustiancorduroy...

I don't actually know at what level to place my Korean, and I don't really care to judge my ability based on the number of words I know (as per World Traveler) but I get by and, amid all the praise, I know it should be better (like you). I also consider myself to be low-intermediate and I'm always feeling a little ashamed that I'm not better but, yeah, Korean is really hard and I've never taken a class. I feel like I get Korea and I have something like a knack for the language (in that I can get by in most situations and people understand me... friends always complain that Koreans don't understand them...they generally accept my Korean as natural). I feel that my Korean sucks because, based on the amount of time I've spent in the country, it should be better.

I was constantly comparing the Chinese that my western friends were speaking in China to that which I would have been able able to pull off in Korea and couldn't really come up with a comparison. I still don't know, but the fact that I'm somewhat anti-social here in Korea, and given the awesome social potentials of the Chinese youth hostel system, I may be dealing with seriously skewed data...

[ttompatz]

[Dodge7]

[Died By Bear]