Korean Job Discussion Forums

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Are you living in the middle class or lower class in Korea? (Consider earnings or salaries)
Are you earning enough to be classified in the middle class?
(Refer to the article below for the salary associated with the middle class)

Different income bracket, different worries in life
By Kim Ki-chan, JoongAng Daily (November 08, 2008)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897093

gazz · Joined: 13 Oct 2008

You are a wank*r for posting this! Be happy Smile

or fuc* off!

Nob end! No one owes you anything!!!!

Earn your rights in your school!!!!

5 star nob end!

Go back home to the 'upper class.' They miss you!

kingplaya4 · Joined: 14 May 2006

So some idiot yuppies that make way above average consider themselves middle class, not particularly interesting. What is interesting is how much money they waste on insurance. I wonder how many years they have been paying 550,000 or 2,500,000 each per month respectively? Even though stocks are down, I bet they'd have a tidy sum assuming they have been paying this for years.

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

IlIlNine · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo

We all know that the GDP in Korea hovers around $20,000 USD.. We also know that usually only the man of the house works, we also know that even if the woman does work, it's often at a salary that's quite a bit lower than her husband's. We also know that there are many farmers, retail workers, restaurant workers, and blue collar workers that make a pittance. Nevermind all the people who don't work and just live and mooch off their parents.

From a purely salary-oriented perspective, we - particularly the guys, as western-educated males, are at a huge disadvantage. If you're straight out of uni it's a bid different... because what the average ESL teacher makes is about what the 'chobo's get when they first start working at a company. However, once they prove themselves somewhat, the salary goes up and the bonusses get significantly bigger... after a couple of years, they dudes who work at the companies are way ahead of the average ESLer.

Of course, ESLers have a bit more freedom, vacation, etc... and arguably a better quality of life.

Of course, if you're ambitious, it IS possible to make the big bucks here! Unfortunately, most people seem not to be.

Keep posting, RR!! You do good work.

Cheonmunka · Joined: 04 Jun 2004

Yeah.
I think the insurance is actually mostly savings.
My wife's got one. She, well me actually, puts in for seven years, waits another seven and gets about double back after all that time - at the same time - your kids and she, not me, are insured for death ins. stuff like that.

cdninkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

Korlingus · Joined: 01 Sep 2007

cheeseface · Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi

pidgin · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Location: Seoul

There's more to life than money, kids.

This thread is retarded.

(I'm upper class, btw Wink

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject:

I'm lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut. Wink

DCJames · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

WTF do people expect from teachers' salaries?

Teachers don't make much ANYWHERE in the world.

If REALREALITY wants to make 100,000,000 won he should get a job as a banker.

Freakstar · Joined: 29 Jun 2007

I would say I'm squarely in the middle class...whether I am living in Korea or in the U.S. But I don't know, if you're going to define middle class solely by our paychecks and not take other factors into account (like education, upbringing, social networks, values, etc.), then please give us an income bracket chart so that those of us who are wondering whether we're lower, middle, upper middle or upper class can more easily "define ourselves." Rolling Eyes

For the record, my individual income alone doesn't equal 120 million KRW, but it's close to 100 million KRW after I recently reupped with my current employer for another year. If you want to throw in my housing, transportation expenses and other perks (which are all paid for by my company), then my income would exceed 120 million KRW since my housing alone is quite expensive. But yes, all other indications would point to my being in the middle class.

DCJames · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

justaguy · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Location: seoul

How much you make is not a good measure. The purchasing power of your income is a much better indicator. Prices have always been high here reletive to other countries. Problem now is that inflation is sykrocketing on top of that. Everywhere I go prices have gone up on everything. It's getting so bad I don't want to go out anymore.

The reason I chose to teach in this country and not Japan was that I thought Japan was more expensive and I could save more money in Korea. This is no longer the case. Seoul is now more expensive that Tokyo.