Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Justine]

HI,

I was wondering if someone could help me?

I will be in Korea in March and am really hoping to be in Busan but who knows.

I am trying to figure out how much money i can save a month. I will probably be on 1.8 million.

I like to socialise and go out and i like to eat at restaurants. Saving is important but i also want to enjoy my life and do what makes me happy.

How much are utilities usually? phone bills? transport? etc I realise that this is all relative but i just would like a rough idea

So realistically how much would i actually be saving a month?

Thanks!

[andrewchon]

1.8 mil and you wanna party. You won't save a dime.

Hard and fast rule for E-2 holders in Korea: Always have money saved enough for a plane ticket.

Utilities: depends on housing you get. Busan is a fairly diverse area. Gas, electricity 5,000 to 100,000.
Phone: if you're a chatterbox, 100,000
Night out at a club: 100,000 per group
meal in a restaurant 10,000 per
You'll also likely to be paying key-money for first three months, 300,000 each
Bus ride 1,000 each
Budget for food: 200,000
Rest go to the plane ticket fund.

[Justine]

So going for beers a couple of times a week and eating at a restaurant a few times means i wont save any money?

So do teachers just spend their evenings at home?

[Davew125]

[Draz]

[Justine]

What do you mean?

Busan seems to be the coolest place in Korea although I havnt been there, what i have researched mostly shows that is mostly suited to what i want.

1.8 is what teachers get with no experience and a basic TEFL.

I live in South AFrica and have been going through Reach to Teach.

I really dont want to be screwed over/out of pocket.

What money should i be expecting?

Who else can i go through if i dont go through EPIK?

[youtuber]

[jonpurdy]

Since I renewed my contract in August I've been spending about a million per month living totally liberally, going out three or four times per week, not worrying about money at all. This includes decent restaurants and imported beers and some clothes shopping as well. I can't imagine blowing 1.8 per month unless you were buying lots of gadgets as well.

I think your actual take-home salary on 1.8 is about 1.65, so even if you spent a million per month you'd still save 650,000 per month. Plus you'd get your pension and severance in a lump sum at the end of your contract (about 3-4 million).

Keep in mind that I'm in Ulsan so food and such might be a bit cheaper, but I go to Busan regularly and spend about the same in a night.

[OneWayTraffic]

I wouldn't listen too much to the guy who said you won't save a dime. Even on 1.8 you can save quite a bit. But you'd need to either pay yourself first (ie remit money as soon as you get paid) or do some overtime or privates. Privates could get you in trouble, though statistically the chances of getting caught are low.

You can go out to cheaper places for 10,000 a night for food and beer and have a good time. But real drinking and clubbing and a taxi home will eat up your cash in a hurry.

Anyway your basic unavoidable expenses will probably add up to 100,000 ultilities, 40,000 cellphone (more if you like to talk), 300,000 for food (just the basics, rice, bread and noodles, little meat, nothing expensive, no meals out.) Then if you actually want to have a life that's extra.

If the school feeds you for lunch that helps.

In my first 6 months here I spent 600,000 a month and paid off my credit card and bank OD very quickly. Then I started to spend a bit more. But I didn't have much of a life.

[runthegauntlet]

[Justine]

Thanks so much for your replies.

I wasnt saying that i wanted to club and party my year away. For me its important to socialise and I am sure other people will feel the same.

I was just trying to make sure that it was possible to be able to actually 'live' and not just 'exist' in Korea. If I was having to stay in my flat every night then it just wouldnt be worth it for me.

Comments like 'you wont save a dime' are extremely disheartening to someone who is about to head to Korea.

[Old Gil]

You can save about 1mil a month, but you need to be creative. Cook a lot, eat a lot of rice. Make ramen, add kimchi, pork chicken, vegetables, etc good cheap eatin.

Buying a scooter will pay for itself very quickly but requires an initial investment.

Don't forget how vacations will set you back too.

[Rusty Shackleford]

You can save 1 mil a month, easy. If you spend 1.8 mil a month, you are a mentalist!

[andrewchon]

OP:
You didn't explain all that in the original post did you?
What I gave was a standard answer to "Can I have social life and save too?"
People ask that because, usually, they want to ask "Is it OK to spend all the money?"
I've counseled enough young-and-debt-ridden to not make the same mistake again.
Anyway, if you know moderation, I think other posters have answered your question.

[gillod]

Depends. If you wanna live a really Western life style, you won't pocket much. But my wife and I have dinner in the markets most nights which runs between 2,000 and 5000 a person, depending. If you go out for pizza everynight or head to Outback, it's going to be triple that at least. Beer isn't too expensive and Soju is cheap. 4 of us got 3 pitchers and 3 bottles of Soku for around 42,000, which is pretty reasonable. Try and drink Cosmos, though, and you'll be back to scraping by.

Utilities aren't too bad and while you won't have to pay rent, you will have to pay a maintenance fee or something every month. Ours is 50$. Utils (Gas, Electric, Water) are another 50$. Cell bill is 20/mth for 100 minutes. Internet is 20.