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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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 Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
[ And let's see, I just checked the first ad I found for Japan and it's offering 250,000 yen ($3,145 US) a month + completion bonus + housing subsidy. You're telling me that doesn't kick the butt of any job in South Korea right now?
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Many jobs have been offering 250,000 yen for years (at least since 2000)
That alone should tell you something. And with the MUCH higher prices of living in Japan you won't come out much ahead...if you do come out ahead at all.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Japan |
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jurassic82
Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Location: Somewhere!!!!
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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Everything starts to look the same if you stay in the same place long enough
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Not true. I lived the first 25 years of my life in the UK and whenever I go back I still marvel at the diverse nature of the different towns, cities and areas of countryside. Having lived in 8 different countries I can safely say Korea is by far the most uniform looking country I've ever seen. not saying it hasn't got beautiful areas but they're similar looking beautiful areas, all slightly uglified by the buildings. |
There is really no point in arguing about this. I think people tend to forget that geographically Korea is a small country. Things are going to look the same. I am suprised at many of the new building in Seoul and Busan. There are many ugly old buildings in Korea but that is expected in country that has developed so rapidly. I guess saying what is beautiful and what isn't is really a matter of opinion. Anyways, time to go back to the previous arguments. |
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bindairdundat
Joined: 20 Jun 2012
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Being Canadian, I can only wonder why Canadians still go to Korea or stay. I was there from 2001 to 2010. I now work in an office in Canada where everybody takes multiple vacations overseas with their families every year. They all live in very nice houses, have 2 brand new vehicles, usually one worth over $60,000. They own RVs, cottages on the lake, properties in Arizona, etc. None of them are even remotely strapped for cash. They take most Fridays off all summer long and often leave early. They also will all be retiring at 55, which I won't be able to do because I won't have the time in. I also should mention that none of them have a university degree.
Canadians will move half way around the world to make a couple thousand a month, but all they have to do is move to Alberta. If you are sitting there thinking you are stuck, just come here to get kick started. You'll be fine and better off. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| isitts wrote: |
You�d choose Japan...now? Looks like your delayed information theory might be accurate.  Granted the exchange rate is good now, but salaries relative to the cost of living...you might not be moving much out. Plus the difficulty of breaking into the market doesn�t make Japan near the hot spot it used to be. I wouldn�t do Japan any way but through the JET Program and even that�s been retooled downward. |
Isn't the difficulty of entering the market proof of its popularity? I would definitely chose Japan. Why? Japan's F***in' awesome for one. Have you eaten Japanese food? Yeah, kicks Korean food's butt. And let's see, I just checked the first ad I found for Japan and it's offering 250,000 yen ($3,145 US) a month + completion bonus + housing subsidy. You're telling me that doesn't kick the butt of any job in South Korea right now? |
I�m not sure what we�re arguing here. Yes, Japan is popular. Yes, I�ve tried the food. I said I�d lived there for two years. I�m not saying it isn�t awesome. But I thought we were talking about places we�d choose if we were starting out in the EFL field now. Japan is harder to get into than South Korea, making South Korea the better place to start out.
And I commented on the exchange rate. Yes, it�s good. But in Japan, 250,000 yen is still only 250,000 yen. It�s Japan�s cost of living you�d be dealing with, not America�s.
If you saw a job that offers a housing subsidy, then, yes, it�s a good deal. But it�s not the norm there like it is here. And try applying for that job and see if you get it. It�s way more competitive there. I�m sure there are opportunities in Japan but not in the volume that existed back in the 90�s (or earlier), from what I�m told. And not in the volume that exists here in Korea now. That�s all I�m saying. |
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austrian123
Joined: 15 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Maserial wrote: |
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I turned down a 70k a year a job in canada to come to korea to make 200 million a year. |
Something about this doesn't jive well with your story from a year ago. |
tsk tsk Its funny how people always assume the worst without knowing the full story. So here it is; I earned over six figures in canada but the economy went south. So i was looking at a pay cut and the best offer I got was 70 but I refused. So my wife and I came to Korea and I brought my life savings with me of several hundren million won. Bought gold and silver with it. I taught toefl for a year and a bit but I quit but I hated teaching. An opportunity came up to invest in a business which we did but sold my gold and silver to do it. The business is doing well making about 15 million a month. I also work at a korean company now making 2.8 million a month. So that is about 200 million won a year. So to all you haters life is great for me because money is not an issue for me and I do not have to teach anymore.
And yes it is true. Most male E2 visa holders come to korea for P. |
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JustinC
Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Japan is friggin' expensive; I was looking at a vaca there and to travel from Kyoto to Tokyo requires you pay a 10,000 yen toll on the highway. WTF?
The trains cost that, each way too. The bus isn't far off - for an 8 hour journey that's pretty steep. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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tsk tsk Its funny how people always assume the worst without knowing the full story. So here it is; I earned over six figures in canada but the economy went south. So i was looking at a pay cut and the best offer I got was 70 but I refused. So my wife and I came to Korea and I brought my life savings with me of several hundren million [b]won[/b]
I have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in physical silver and I know that silver will hit 3 digits.
The problem is however, I have 95% of ALL my cash in silver, so I needed to find a job to make it through the next 5 years....
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So presumably you meant Won the first time you posted not dollars. Additionally you said
I turned down a 70k a year a job in canada to come to korea to make 200 million a year.
Linguistically that means the reason why you came to Korea initially was to make 200,000 million won, not to make 2.5 teaching TOEFL and then later happen to come across a business opportunity which now happens to make 15 million a month. I don�t know why but there�s something about the combination of people posting about how much money they have on an anonymous message board and making conflicting statements that tends to make people a tad cynical. Don�t know why. |
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JustinC
Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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| May I interject, and suppose that people think they're full of sh**? |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
And let's see, I just checked the first ad I found for Japan and it's offering 250,000 yen ($3,145 US) a month + completion bonus + housing subsidy. You're telling me that doesn't kick the butt of any job in South Korea right now?
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Yes, I am. Because having previously lived for quite a long time in Japan I've seen first hand how much people struggled to get by on that very salary, and sometimes on more than that.
250k a month USED TO be the minimum salary you had to be paid to get the visa that most native-speaking English teachers get in Japan, as it was considered the minimum needed to reasonably live on. Many schools cheated their way around it by forcing teachers to live in school provided accommodation for high monthly rents which were automatically deducted from their salary cheque. And anyway, that minimum amount has been scrapped now and some schools now officially pay 200k a month or occasionally less these days.
But Japan is C-O-O-L with a capital C and there's a never ending supply of cool kids who'll take the crap that's offered there these days. That, in turn, is why such poor conditions get offered.
Not that I'm saying I regret my time there (I don't), nor that I'm advising you not to go yourself (I'm not). But I would suggest that you get yourself a bit more clued up about the financial realities of living there. For a start, get it into your head that it matters not one iota how much 250k is in your home country's currency. What matters is what you'll have left of that 250k. It will clearly be somewhat less than you appear to realise, even though, in some cases, it's an amount that the people concerned are reasonably satisfied with. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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| edwardcatflap wrote: |
| I don�t know why but there�s something about the combination of people posting about how much money they have on an anonymous message board and making conflicting statements that tends to make people a tad cynical. Don�t know why. |
...Or just plain confusing statements.
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I taught toefl for a year and a bit but I quit but I hated teaching. |
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No_hite_pls
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Location: Don't hate me because I'm right
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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The business is doing well making about 15 million a month. I also work at a korean company now making 2.8 million a month. So that is about 200 million won a year. So to all you haters life is great for me because money is not an issue for me and I do not have to teach anymore.
And yes it is true. Most male E2 visa holders come to korea for P. |
If your buisness is making 15 million a month, why on earth would you work for a Korean company paying you only 2.8 million?
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| No_hite_pls wrote: |
If your buisness is making 15 million a month, why on earth would you work for a Korean company paying you only 2.8 million?
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Are you hoping for a logical answer from someone who wrote this?
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I knew I would make less in Korea than I would in Canada, but I didn't care because I had money now. |
But if we're lucky, we'll get another page long answer clarifying the matter...or convoluting it further. |
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No_hite_pls
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Location: Don't hate me because I'm right
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| isitts wrote: |
| No_hite_pls wrote: |
If your buisness is making 15 million a month, why on earth would you work for a Korean company paying you only 2.8 million?
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Are you hoping for a logical answer from someone who wrote this?
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I knew I would make less in Korea than I would in Canada, but I didn't care because I had money now. |
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What does "I had money now" mean? You had money then or you have money now?  |
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Gorf
Joined: 25 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah I was a 00 agent for MI6 but the job had too much running and risk involved so I decided to come to Korea and teach for only $25,000 a year. Also I was making $500,000 in her majesty's secret service and I own a minority stake in Oracle and I drive a Lambo on my Italian vacations with supermodels. No seriously guys, I only post on here to tell you how much better I am than you, that's the only reason! |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| No_hite_pls wrote: |
| isitts wrote: |
Are you hoping for a logical answer from someone who wrote this?
| austrian123 wrote: |
| I knew I would make less in Korea than I would in Canada, but I didn't care because I had money now. |
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What does "I had money now" mean? You had money then or you have money now? |
Well, I meant the logic of going to Korea to make less money. |
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