Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Illysook]

I'm currently an overeducated barista at a Starbucks in Columbus, Ohio and I'm barely making ends meet. I think that I will love being a teacher and that this opportunity to go to Korea is a great opportunity, but I'll have that last (paltry) SBux check in my pocket and nothing more when I arrive. How bad is it going to hurt? I already asked my mom for a loan and she said something about checking out the Korean food pantries.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Was there a question in there?

I THINK that you are asking if you can come here with little money and make it to payday, but it is not clear. I'm guessing, but I think you mean: can you survive for a month until your first payday...but who knows what amount you are talking about?

It's a good idea to arrive with W1 million ($1,000) for those first month expenses of setting up an apartment. Of course you can get by with less, but so can the homeless living in a box under a bridge. I would think a bare minimum would be W10,000 a day.

[jadarite]

I was in your situation this time last year. I didn't have any money and instead of Starbucks, I was about to work for a Japanese company in Tennessee or at a Kroger. Oh, the options. So, when Kroger wouldn't take me (cause I wasn't on welfare and didn't file for unemployment cause I worked in Japan previously which meant I couldn't lol), I looked at ESL jobs again.

My dad loaned me a few hundred, and when I got to Korea, the school owner let me stay at his place until he got me a place. He lent me 100 bucks (not much but it helped). I had almost 1,000 dollars (1,000,000 won), with some of that money still in yen from my stay in Japan.

I ended up only spending 3-400 dollars until my first pay. I didn't buy much, didn't eat out, and I didn't have to pay bills for the first month (which would be the same for you).

So, it's doable, but you can't spend the money when you get off the plane. Only buy what you need.

[losing_touch]

It seems that it is pretty possible that you can. A lot of contracts will offer you a settlement sum of $300. That can last you a little bit. There are a lot of reports of people arriving with less. You will need to find yourself an employer who will prepay your flight. I am sitting on $3000 in Thailand, but I also have a wife and a family who is willing to loan me cash if the need should arise. I depart in the end of August. Thankfully, I don't have to pay my last months rent here. Also, that security deposit will come in handy. If you are determined, you will find a way! By the way, I start teaching on September 1st and will get paid 1/2 month salary on the 15th.

[jillbean1217]

Hey Illysook,
I'm graduating from the good old OH-IO in a few weeks and have started the process to come to Korea after graduation. I can't help you out on the advice about expenses, but I would love to talk more about how you're getting ready for the trip, etc. It would be nice to know another Ohioan. I'd PM you but I don't have enough posts yet to do that. Send me an email though ([email protected]) and maybe we can help each other through this
Jill

[Kikomom]

There are a few expenses to think about before you get on the flight:

Criminal Background Check ($10 online here with State Police)
notaries (we paid $10)
apostilles ($15/each in my state x 2.. CRC & diploma)
transcripts ($5 each)
DHL to send documents to Korea ($57)
$45 visa fee
cost of getting to consulate for interview, and back (last fling in NYC)...priceless

Did I miss anything?

In either case, you girls would probably be going to the consulate in Chicago. Prepare for a road trip...
Chicago
NBC Tower Suite 2700, 455 North City Front Plaza Dr. Chicago, IL 60611
T:(312) 822-9485
F:(312) 822-9849

[Illysook]

I have family in Chicago, so I can count on a couch and I can probably go on the Megabus which can be as low as ten bucks each way. Also, here in Cowtown, the sheriff's department charges a nickel a page for your record check. I had nothing on mine, so it was five cents for that and then another $1.50 for the notary and maybe $2.50 to certify that the notary was actually a notary and after all of that, I got the apostille for five bucks. I also rode my bike for these errands so that I didn't have to put out for parking or gas money. Perhaps being cheap and resourceful will help me out in Korea, but I'm counting on it to be a lot harder with a language barrier in place...as evidenced by my experiences at those mexican taco stands here in town. The food is great but I had to learn how to say "No Carnes, por favor!" and even then, one is likely to get chicken or fish and to pay a dollar or two more than the mexican construction worker who was in front of you in the line who walked away with the works.

[jadarite]

That is a nice list. Can you add location too? I'll try. Please correct where I am wrong.

Local police station - Criminal Background Check ($10 online here with State Police)
Secretary of State - notaries (we paid $10)
Secretary of State - apostilles ($15/each in my state x 2.. CRC & diploma)
College - transcripts ($5 each)
DHL, post office (I did this last year and it worked, but before Dec 15) - DHL to send documents to Korea ($57)
Consulate - $45 visa fee
NYC or Chicage in this case (no idea about the western part) - cost of getting to consulate for interview, and back (last fling in NYC)...priceless

[Kikomom]

jadarite, that is in Pennsylvania. Notaries charge $5 here, we had two done.


Wow, Illy. That's really inexpensive compared what Wario paid just one state over. Helps that you're in the state capital too. He also had to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the Dept. of State to get the apostillated docs back in.

Jillbean, here's some info for you on getting apostillated docs in Ohio:

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/authentication.aspx

Looks like Ohio adds a step though...

Notary
County Clerk
State Dept

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/authentication/Types.aspx

Unless...

[Countrygirl]

If you get a job with GEPIK (and maybe some other public schools) you will get 300K as a settlement allowance, the first payday is one the 25th and the school provides lunch which will be taken out of your pay (30k give or take). I also heard of some teachers who receive leftovers. If you mention to your co-teacher that you are tight on cash, you can ask for them to give the airline ticket money back to you sooner than the end of the first month. They already have the money. Just get it agreed upon before you come here, preferably by email.

More GEPIK schools are getting the funding for FT but the visa process is slowing everything down. It took the school next to us 6 months to find a teacher. If your co-teacher says, no, they can't, ask again and again. Basically a good school won't refuse reasonable requests and will try to help you. If they don't move on. Don't pick the first school because you don't have enough money now...you'll regret it later on.

Hope this info helps.

[A2Steve]

there's a company in New York City that does EVERYTHING for the apostillization process, from the background check itself, to the apostille (or as I say, your gold sticker) in about 7-10 days after you order it. and it comes in a nice folder too.

its about 325 bucks, so it aint cheap. If you figure it will cut your wait for the apostille from 8-16 weeks in some places, its a pretty good deal.

unless you really like slinging a cup oo' Joe that gets marked up because it has an Italian name.

[Kikomom]

Wario had his diploma and CRC copied and notarized on Saturday, in the mail the the Dept of State on Monday morning, and got it back on Friday. Like I said, that's Pennsylvania. (they authenticated the notary there, unlike OH that wants a Clerk of the Court to do it first)

[Illysook]

$325.00 to do what I could do for less than $10.00!

The recruiters (who all refer you to that company's website) must be getting some NICE kickbacks. Perhaps THAT is the good job in Korea...if you don't actually think that it would be cool teach...which I do BTW.

[i]

I knew a guy who survived on Ramen for awhile. I think you could live on that for less than $50 a month. But you still need drinking water, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, get laundry done, etc.
I've seen guys come with not much and other teachers in the school helped them out a bit the first month.

[MUOhio82]

Hey, from Cincinnati here! I'm currently in Korea, and went through the whole paperwork process before I came....

If you have any questions, just shoot me an email, I'd love to help out! [email protected]

I only came with $500 and it's safe to say it's BARELY enough