Korean Job Discussion Forums

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

My gosh-- what isn't a rip-off in Canada?

Movie tickets-- haven't been to a new one in years in Edmonton because I refuse to pay 10,000+ for a film. But rerun theatres are a good deal at 2,000 or so.

Rock concerts-- overproduced, overpriced, overamplified. Again, I stopped going when tickets went over 40,000 in the early nineties, and that leaves out pretty well every band except Chilliwack now.

Other disproportionately expensive things in Canada: haircuts (10,000+); pizza delivery charges; bank charges on everything; cheese (due to a strong dairy lobby); cars; airplane tickets (because of the tax, tax, tax on every facet of the trip); postage (there's a reason why Canadians were so quick to adopt e-mail). University tuition used to be a pretty good deal in Canada. Used to be. It now nears US levels, but without their more extensive system of financial aid and scholarships.

Other honorable mentions: the usurious taxes placed on gasoline, cigarettes (8,000 a pack) and alcohol (50-75% tax), which all help fund our "free" healthcare system. Get married abroad? 70,000 so the b***h working at the Canadian embassy in Busan can record your marriage on a piece of paper; as I remember, the converse Korean registration was 20.

In fairness, rice and honey are very poor value in Korea, perhaps because of the same farmer's lobbies that exist for dairy in Canada. Import cars are also highly taxed, along with many foreign goods. My wife often complains that children's clothing is pricey here. Bus tickets are under 2,000 at home, not cheap but certainly better than England.

A good donut and coffee is under 2,000 won in Canada at a Tim's or such; a crappy donut and coffee is 3,000 at Dunkin' Donuts, or twice that at the outrageously overpriced coffee shops in Korea.

Ken:>

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

re:cursive · Joined: 04 Jan 2006

The tax system.

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

Potatoes! They're cheaper in Canada.

I think beef may be, too, not sure.

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Natalia · Joined: 10 Mar 2006

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

In Canada...

Prescription medicines. Yeah, free health care and all, but if you don't have insurance you're screwed as far as buying medicine, and it's impossible to find someone who will insure a diabetic if you don't happen to work at a place with a good health plan. Had I ever bought all the supplies I needed, it would have cost me about $200 a month. My dad's bills when he was being treated for cancer would have been well into the thousands without insurance.

Dentistry. Last checkup was well over $100 CDN, and that was for the checkup alone... without any of the fillings or other stuff that I needed.

Glasses. I got a perfectly fine pair here for about 40000 won. In Canada they were more like $200.

Car insurance... I don't know what it is here, but I know my parents pay absolutely ridiculous premiums back home, for two relatively old and accident-free cars.

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

Intercity transportation! The last time I went home, it cost me $175 roundtrip to go from Buffalo to Albany (about 300 miles/500km) by bus or train. The train was about Mugunghwa speed and quality, and it was still an hour behind schedule. Greyhound buses are even slower, smell like human feces because of the onboard chemical toilets, and stop in every single ghetto it can find on the way.

Sash · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Location: farmland

1) Taxi fare

2) Bottled Water (I know someone said it already)

3) Cable/Internet

4) RENT! (Well atleast for a one-room/studio.. and if I were actually even paying for it here. About 700,000+ won back home vs 350,000 here).

The price of any type of vitamin/supplement here is a joke.

SPINOZA · Joined: 10 Jun 2005 Location: $eoul

Taxis are disgracefully expensive. Public transport in London is....well....I dunno how poorer Londoners manage.

But the real issue is property. Property in England is so expensive it is morally repugnant. Panic-buying ensures even rubbish little houses in rubbish areas have six-figure prices (in GBP!).

migooknom · Joined: 10 Dec 2004

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Zyzyfer · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:54 pm Post subject:

Car insurance - 1.5 million won for a year back in VB. Even when I lived in the boonies back home, it was high. Much, much better here. I can get a year of coverage for slightly more than 3 months back home.

Korean food - 8,000 won for some damn ddeokbokki.

Taxis and PT as well...actually, with the buses, it's more than they're inconvenient as hell, not expensive.

Tipping - Went to a place with friends and we dropped 130,000 won on dinner. One guy was joking that I should leave a tip. Was thinking "yeah 10,000 would be a nice tip" and realized it's less than 10% of the bill.

Dev · Joined: 18 Apr 2006