Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Noureli]

I'm coming to Korea mid November and the city is Ulsan. I want to know how much money I should bring with me for food, setting up house and buying the necessties for my apartment. Thanks a lot!!!!

[VanIslander]

If your job is a small hagwon with few foreign teachers and the typical free apartment then you don't need much the first month, a period of adjustment and concentration on teaching anyways (local food can be super cheap). Apartments are usually furnished enough to get by until the first paycheque.

I came with 200,000 won and was fine.

Worked hard and asked for an advance after the second week, describing it as "needed". Got it no problem. Koreans are all about relationships over contracts anyways. Develop a good relationship and benefits accrue, at least with the honest ones. I'd gleaned these words of wisdom from researching other teachers' experiences prior to arriving, both in general and at the academy in particular.

Ideally, I would have had 500,000 - 1,000,000 won for the first month.

[Ya-ta Boy]

It's common for people to save 50% of their salary here. That means they are spending somewhere in the neigborhood of W1,000,000 a month (roughly $1,000). That's the general rate of 'average monthly expenses'.

You might want to spend more for settling in. Calculate accordingly.

(As mentioned, you can get by on much less.)

[some waygug-in]

That's if all goes well, but what if you end up at a no pay school?

Best to have enough to extricate yourself if need be.

[sheba]

I came over with $1,000 and that was pretty good. You dont tend to spend a LOT in your first month because you dont really know what the foods are or where the shops are! However, the other teachers took me out every weekend for the first 6 weeks, and that added up as well.

[MixtecaMike]

I got here with no job and US$1500, although I was kind of nervous about not knowing how long I'd have to make it last, when I got my first paycheck after two weeks looking and a visa run and a full month working I still had US$400 which I used to get a computer. If I hadn't found a job I would have been seriously jodido but you'd have to be pretty damn unemployable to find yourself jobless for very long here.

[some waygug-in]

Depends where you are, how old you are and what kind of job you are looking for.

If any old kiddie hagwan will do........you should have a job in a week.

It you are looking for something like teaching adults.........you could be looking a long time.