Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ray2thechel]

My husband and I are looking at the opportunities South Korea holds for native English speakers. I would be the one teaching English while my husband continued to work on his online bachelors degree. Is there anyone here that has had experience bringing a dependent and the processes of making it work? I have gotten mixed reviews on the matter, some sites says that isn't an issue whereas others say that it makes it near impossible. My husband is willing to sign or write any statement about not breaking the contract.

[Fox]

I have known a number of people who brought over dependents (children and/or spouses) on F-3 visas, and they have not seemed to have any trouble. You'd want to make sure any school-provided housing was big enough, but beyond that, what's the worry? Some people will insist that you'll never be able to afford it, but two people can pretty easily live off of a single salary here, even while continuing to save money. Sure, you'll end up saving less in the bargain, and your start-up costs will be higher since your employer will likely refuse to pay for your husbands airfare, but you'll be able to make ends meet, assuming you stay for the entire year instead of quitting early or getting fired. Something like CDI, where evidently you can be fired during training, could be disasterous, since it would mean having to pay airfare both for yourself and your husband both ways while earning nothing, but a more secure position like a public school job would be a pretty safe bet.

[Keeper]

The hard part will be the beginning. You must get your school to agree to the visas. They will have to provide a form that is given to the Korean embassy to bring them with you. Some schools will balk at the idea simply because they've never had to do it before. Public schools can be very hard to get into.

If they tell you to stay in a one bedroom apt. which is not big enough and doesn't have working appliances you will have to do so. If they say, "move, you have three days." You move. Be sure you are coming with some extra money. I would not bring a family unless I had a great exit plan in case things went very wrong. So choose wisely and plan ahead if you do come. It seems you have read up and know the risks; so good luck.

[wings]

It is no problem at all. I am here with my husband as a dependant.

[ray2thechel]

[wings]

Before we were married I worked for SMOE and had SMOE housing. I told my school after I arrived that my "fiance" would be joining me in a few weeks. My husband (then boyfriend) came on a tourist visa, we took a vacation every 3 months and he would come back with a new tourist visa.

We left Korea for a few years and got married and came back. I have a universtiy type job now with my own housing. Your partner can come to Korea on a tourist visa, and then once you get here they can change to a dependent visa, no problem. To make sure we didn't have any problems when we got here (we came together) we already had a trip to Thailand booked in case they asked for proof that he would be leaving the country, but they didn't ask.

My advice would be to do it, but get your own housing! You might want to come over first, get a place and look for a job once you get here. That was our plan, but I ended up finding a job just before we headed over.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

[ray2thechel]

another questions, for those who have experience bringing a dependent, are you still able to save a good amount of money? or is it used up with supporting two off one salary?

[wings]

Obviously I save less than I would if I were alone. Groceries cost more, vacations are for 2, and I have a bigger apartment than I would if I were just 1 person. That said, we came back here becuase we did the math and would be saving a lot more here with just 1 person working, than we were with both of us working back home. We save a million a month every month (automatic withdrawl the day after pay day) which we never touch, as well as saving up for 2 or 3 nice trips out of Korea a year. But, I'm good with money and I don't know many people who save that much.

Being a married couple, we do spend a lot less than other people on some things, though. We eat in a lot more than our friends do, which saves us a tonne. And, there are ocasional opportunities for my husband to earn some extra money. If your husband is a native English speaker, he will easily be able to pick up some (iilegal) extra work, be it privates, for decent $, or online teaching for crappish money.

The cost of living here is a lot lower than some other places, so you might end up saving just by living somewhere where you don't need a car to get around. We live in Seoul, take public tranportation, eat in (mainly vegetarian) and have a pretty simple lifestyle outside of our trips abroad. I know other people who live here on the same salary as me and save nothing. It really depends on your lifestyle.

[tophatcat]

If I take a job as a university instructor on a 3.4 million won salary, will it be possible for me to support a dependent and still save 500 thousand or a million won each month? We are both very thrifty.

[GENO123]

[wings]

You will be able to save a million no problem. I save a million a month for long term savings, plus money for travel. I live in a nice 3 bedroom apartment in the middle of Seoul with a western style bathroom. Some people are so crap with money that it is outrageous. they will tell you that your life will suck if you try to save that much. They will always struggle financially and try to tell you that your life sucks if you are saving any money.

Here is a quick breakdown:

My take home pay is 3,050,000 including my housing allowance (sometimes I get overtime between 100,000 and 500,000 a month, overtime goes to the travel fund).

Savings - 1,000,000
Rent - 800,000
Bills - 300,000 - 400,000

Spending $ - 8 - 900,000

I am a good cook and a fairly thrifty person. I shop at Costco, and use Gmarket, and I make healthy lunches at home to take to work. We usually go out for Korean food once a week, to a bar once a week, and to a western restaurant once or twice a month. I like imported beer, so when I go out I have 2 really nice expensive beers, and then switch to a cheaper Korean one.

I have a Korean credit card that gets me good discounts at a lot of places, and I have a credit card from my home country that I use for iherb, etc to get flight miles. I travel around Asia twice a year, almost always with miles for an almost free flight (sometimes in first class). I buy in season vegetables and fruits, and check what is on sale. If you are a thrifty person, you can easily save a million a month if you are bringing home 3 million.


In the first 2 or 3 months you are here you will save nothing as you will just be getting set up, and figuring out how to get things for less. Once you are settled in, you'll be fine.

[GENO123]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DINK_(acronym)

[wings]

They won't be DINKs as they won't have a dual income. Only 1 of them will be working while the other studies.