Korean Job Discussion Forums

shawner88 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003

So, I'm staying with my friend here who used to teach in Korea and I've been surprised by the deal he gets. He teaches Koreans in a Korean public international school. He lives in the big Korea Town area here and works for the Korean government and, because it's hard to exchange RMB into dollars inside of China, he gets paid in USD. It's a pretty sweet deal. Around $2000/month, but 9-5 PM (5 classes + too many office hours). Yeah, that's a normal job...but... that's a load of money in a country where the average worker makes about $200 a month. He's living like a king and still sending home most of his money.

He lives in a HUGE 2 bedroom apartment that he only pays $220/month for plus low utilities. With a roommate (he used to have one) that would only be half of that. This is no Korean ESLer apartment. He has a giant livingroom, dining room, spacious kitchen and bathroom, and 2 large bedrooms.

He has a maid that cleans his apartment 4 times a week for two hours for only $30 a month. DSL - just as fast as Korea, but lot of sites blocked including my own blogspot blog.

All the Korean food you could want is here, the same price or cheaper than Korea. Not to mention Chinese food! - which runs about $1 - $2 for a great meal. Basically if you're frugal, and why be? - you could really live on $5/day.

DVDs and console games? $1 a pop and available everywhere. And not just on the street. They have huge shops full of them, which I can't believe they can get away with. Imitation jeans, same quality as the Korean fakes - $15 for Diesel or Armani or Levis or whatever it is you want. $2 shirts, etc. Anyway, you get the idea.

Now for a real perk: my friend had beer delivered to his house. 24 bottles of Tsing Dao 630 ml bottles for, get this, $3.50. $1.50 deposit. I practically fell over when I saw that go down.

Easy to meet Chinese women? Are you kidding? They're everywhere and very sociable. My friend met his girlfriend, who is very pretty I must say, at the supermarket. They make eye contact and you start a conversation - next thing you know, you have a number - or an instant date. That is very unlike in Korea where they would be so self concious of what others would think of them talking to you, or they would just think you are a scumbag hagwon teacher/stalker.

The point is, I had no idea there were such sweet deals in China. Mostly you hear about Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Well, if you can get a job teaching Koreans in China, it's a nice ride. Only thing is, you have to be hired outside of China to get the full time position, kind of like JET I guess.

shakuhachi · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: Sydney

Can you find out any more information on that?

VanIslander

Shawner, it sounds like the pay is about the same as a typical hagwon in Korea, since two million won is about two thousand dollars. His take home is even less once the $220 rent he has to pay is factored in. The maid service is similarly priced here in Korea, or else I've just gotten lucky.

But the low cost of living in China is indeed impressive.

I already knew there were several teaching jobs in China in the $1,000-$1,300 range. $2000 would allow for a lot of savings.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

Nice.

Are you going to stay, Shawner?

One of my co-workers lived in Beijing for a couple years.. he loved it.. raves on about it still. From others I've heard that everything is a lot more accessable to foreigners - meaning easy to start businesses, etc., etc.

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

gmat · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Hey Shawner, Your friend has a pretty great gig, no question. But this is not a typical situation in China. Your friend is making four times as much as the average ESL gig in China and maybe twice as much as the typical Beijing position.

The other thing that is not typical is the speed of the DSL. There are pockets of good service but this is not normal. I am finishing up in Dalian (before moving to Seoul) and I can say with certainty that the DSL service here is truly horrendous. If I get download speeds of 20 kbs/sec, I consider myself lucky ( 2 and 3 kbs/sec are pretty normal). On top of the censorship, it is really bad.

Good positions do exist, but they are 1 in a 1000.

OTOH: Chinese girls do rock, no question Laughing

Hope you continue to enjoy your stay in BJ.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

[quote="shawner88"]

Badmojo · Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 4:00 am Post subject:

What a lot of people don't understand is that your money goes a lot farther in China. That is, most sweet university jobs pay around 4000 RMB for 14 hours a week. So you convert it, see it equals like $500 and take a pass. But that 4000 RMB, inside the country, is huge. If you're not in a big city like Beijing or Shanghai, it's almost impossible to spend it all in one month. I could spend my 2 million in Korea in two weeks easy. It could all go. Not there though. No way. 4000 RMB is almost equivalent to making 4 million a month in Korea. Imagine having that money to blow each month? And you do blow it in China and not feel bad about it because there's almost no use in saving it. What good is a stack of 100 RMB notes in Canada? Good for one month of living? *beep* that, I'll turn that into six great months in China.

So for all you people living it up and not saving a cent in Korea, get out now, and move to China. Because you can do it harder, faster, and longer there. I've lived in both places and can say Korea beats China in only one area- saving money, and that's it.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

Sounds good badmojo.

Whats the stares/racism/xenophobia like there though?

Have they been mass-media indoctrinated to think all westerners are arrogant invading perverts? Any sign of a Korean-esque inferiority complex?

Badmojo · Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:49 am Post subject:

buddy bradley · Joined: 24 Aug 2003 Location: The Beyond

Stop telling people that China is nice - I want to go there soon.

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

Badmojo · Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:32 am Post subject:

gmat · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

4000 RMB per month provides a semi-decent standard of living but you will be able to saving nothing.

The statement that the Chinese are not racist is ridiculous. Head to the China forums and you will see the same arguments as on the Korean forums, complete with resident apologists.

I agree with Badmojo that if you can't save in Korea, go to China because the lifestyle/work-hours at a university are pretty good. 16 hours per week is the standard.

rapier · Joined: 16 Feb 2003

[quote="gmat"]