Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dawnbuckley]

Hi,

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has taught in Japan. I taught in Korea for 2 years and am now getting itchy feet again so was thinking of going Japan. I had a great time in Korea but I don't want to go back there because I had enough of it! How different is Japan really? Food, money, people etc.?

Thanks!

Dawn

[laogaiguk]

[nicholas_chiasson]

=See here is what I want to know. A lot of people ask...how is the money? After two years in Korea I will be debt free, have a CELTA, 2 years of experience and $10,000. The reverse is I don't want to have to go back to the US ever. So what country could I go to, and actually stay? I need a country I can actually emigrate to.
-But I'm meeting people who have done 10 years in Japan and came to Korea. 'Cause the money is better. Now how bad is the money in Japan? I mean where I am from I'm looking at 7-11 manager as a 'good' job. Clearly ESL in Japan pays better than that right?

[dutchy pink]

I worked in Japan for about 2 years. i saved more money there than I have here. I made about 300,000 yen per month, minus 55,000 for rent.

Japan and Korea are incomparable. When you walk the streets of Japan you feel like a real person.
The only time I shook my head in disbelief was when people walked around with umbrellas in the summer, and qued up for 20 seconds to stand on an escalator that only had 8 steps.

In Korea, I shake my head in disbelief 4 or 5 times a day.

[laogaiguk]

The poster above may have saved more money, but that is not the norm. Especially since the yen is weaker nowadays. 300000 is also the max you will most likely get, probably less, without airfare and you will have to pay rent. Almost everything is more expensive, especially fresh food and transportation. I am not trying to dissuade you from Japan. Japan is awesome, and I suggest going. It's just the chances of you saving more in Japan than you did here (considering normal hagwon/eikaiwa jobs in both countries) are not good. You can still save some and have a good time though. And the experience is worth it in my opinion.

[mountainous]

Many teachers (every one that I have met) get stiffed on their pay in Korea, so there can be no formula. Particularly the JUICY contracts are scams based on my experience, good luck.

[VanIslander]

[reactionary]

Oh, sure, I've had no problems with my PAY - just my benefits.

[TECO]

[little mixed girl]

how much money you can save in japan depends on your situation.
if you have loans and other bills to take care of in your home country, then it's hard to save money.

if all of your loans are paid and you have no financial obligations back home, then you can save money.

it looks like most eikaiwa places are paying 150,000+ yen per month.
if your employer has an apartment set up for you, then you don't have to worry about all of the start-up fees.

food can be crazy expensive...and cheap.
i'm almost out of money, and i've been living cheap until payday next week.
if you need to do that, you can. it's just frustrating. example: i was able to eat on 4,000 yen last week. (though, i got school lunch 4 days out of 5 last week).

...

[dutchy pink]

[visitorq]

[laogaiguk]

250000 yen = 2.2 million won
300000 yen = 2.6 million won

Now, rent can be between 42000 and 75000 (could be a bit lower or higher, but I have never seen either). So let's use the lowest one.

208000 yen = 1.8 million won
258000 yen = 2.25 million won

The 300000 yen a month job is about the best you can get without being in the country (and is hard to get higher even being there, with the amount of people there). So the best you can get (with the lowest rent being factored in, I am assuming it's free in the Korean salary calculation) is the salaries are about the same. Korea though has the pension scheme which adds about 100000 won a month (in theory) to everyone's salary in Korea.

Transportation and fresh food is much more expensive (especially the transportation, which is an awesome system, but more money). Especially cabs and the train (hell even the bus, it costs like $2.40 to go right across Seoul, not even that on the subway).

The only thing I can think of when these people are syaing they are making more is the fact that in Japan, the visa is yours. You can do privates or work part time at other companies (without even telling your main employer) without any worries. So if you take on a lot more, you can probably make a lot more.

But just working normal hagwon/public school job in Korea compared to a normal eikaiwa/public school job in Japan considering same size cities and money spent on recreation, you WILL save more in Korea.

Remember, it doesn't matter what country you are in, if you are in the boondocks with nothing around, you will save more money than if you were in a big city in another country.

[little mixed girl]

[laogaiguk]